James Harden Discusses Bouncing Back vs. Clippers on Friday

Lately, Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden has struggled from the field. While his presence alone has still helped the Sixers find success as his

Lately, Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden has struggled from the field. While his presence alone has still helped the Sixers find success as his shooting cooled off, Harden acknowledged he wasn't getting the results he desired from a personal standpoint.

However, the ten-time All-Star is well-aware of the fact he can climb out of a shooting slump, and he did just that on Friday night.

Before Friday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Harden's field goal and three-point shooting percentages were less than ideal. In the previous eight games, Harden drained just 35-percent of his shots on 14 attempts per game.

He managed to sink only 25-percent of his shots from beyond the arc while taking 6.4 threes per game. Sixers head coach Doc Rivers mentioned before Friday's game that Harden's hamstring still isn't one-hundred percent.

Whether that's contributed to the All-Star's shooting struggles or not is unclear. Regardless of whether that's the case, Harden found a way to bounce back on Friday night when the Sixers paid a visit to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Bounce Back

Right off the bat, Harden was thriving as he scored ten points in ten minutes off of four shots and five free throws. When the second quarter rolled around, Harden went supernova and collected 15 points in eight minutes.

Ever since Harden debuted with the Sixers, Doc Rivers continued preaching aggressiveness to the star guard. While Harden sometimes flips the facilitator switch on, he mentioned he felt like he was consistently aggressive on Friday, which contributed to his first-half success. 

"I've been fairly aggressive, but tonight it was consistent and getting to the basket and having confidence in my shot," he said. "When shots are going in, it makes the game a lot easier."

Although his latest stretch of performances wasn't his best, Harden constantly made it clear that he wasn't getting discouraged. As he continued to put the work in, he finally saw things turn around on Friday.

"Like I told you guys a couple of nights ago, I'm going to continue to put the work in," Harden continued. "Some nights we got bad nights, and some nights we don't make shots, but most of the time, the shots are going to fall. Tonight was one of those nights where I felt good, and we got off to a big lead, and we just continued that wave the entire game."

Harden wrapped up Friday's matchup with a game-high of 29 points in 34 minutes. He shot 7-15 from the field and knocked down four triples. In addition, he got to the free-throw line at a high rate and knocked down all 11 of his foul shots. Thanks to his aggressive scoring, Harden helped the Sixers put away the Clippers with ease as they defeated Los Angeles 122-97.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.