James Harden Makes NBA History in Clippers-Nuggets Game 1

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden makes NBA history in Game 1 versus the Denver Nuggets

Apr 13, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) walks on the court against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers begin their NBA playoff run with a first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Facing arguably the league's best player in Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, the Clippers enter the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak and look to continue to ride that momentum. Starting on the road in Denver, it won't be easy.

While Kawhi Leonard's success as of late has been a major proponent in the success of the Clippers, so has been the season-long effort from James Harden. An all-time NBA great at this point, he added to his first ballot Hall of Fame resume in the first quarter of Saturday's game with another milestone.

Entering Saturday's game just one assist behind Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, Harden's two first-quarter assists were enough to push him ahead of Bird to be eighth all-time in playoff assists. Harden trails only Chris Paul (fifth) and LeBron James (second) in active players ahead of him on the list.

Even though Harden has been known for historical scoring efforts and stretches during his career, his playmaking has been just as valuable. Especially with his connections to the bigs on his roster, Harden has helped bolster the play of Clippers center Ivica Zubac this season during his breakout campaign.

If the Clippers want to hold NBA Finals aspirations this season, they'll need to get the best of the shot-making and shot-creating of Harden to do so.

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