The Los Angeles Clippers (5-11) found a rare bright spot in an otherwise difficult start to the 2025-26 NBA season, as James Harden put on a historic performance in Saturday’s 131-116 road victory over the Charlotte Hornets (4-12). The 36-year-old guard set a new franchise record by scoring 55 points, surpassing the previous high of 52 points held for nearly 35 years by Charles Smith and Bob McAdoo.

With a quiet smirk, Harden said after the game, “Basketball is life,” then turned and walked away.

The 11x All-Star later shared the clip on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, captioning “drops 🎤 #Uno”.

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Harden scored 27 points in the first quarter alone, nearly outscoring the Hornets’ 30 points in that opening frame, and by halftime, he had reached 35 points. He finished the game shooting 17-of-26 from the field (65.4%), including 10-of-16 from beyond the arc, and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. Harden also contributed seven assists, three rebounds, one steal, and just two turnovers in 35 minutes, finishing with a +22 plus/minus.

Saturday’s performance was Harden’s 25th career game scoring 50 or more points, tying him with Kobe Bryant for the third-most 50-point games in NBA history, behind only Michael Jordan (31) and Wilt Chamberlain (32+). The six-time All-NBA First Team selection also became the first player to score at least 55 points with two different teams, having previously dropped 61 points with the Houston Rockets in 2019. Harden now ranks second on the NBA’s all-time three-point list with 3,237 made threes, trailing only Stephen Curry.

With the win, the Clippers broke a three-game losing streak and ended a stretch of nine losses in ten games. Harden has carried the offense for Los Angeles in the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who is dealing with an ankle injury, averaging 28.4 points, 8.5 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 46.1% from the field and 40.8% from three-point range. Remarkably, in his last five games, he has averaged 38.4 points.

The Clippers will quickly shift focus to their Sunday matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers (11-6), hoping Harden can continue his red-hot play.