”It’s about the entire game”: James Harden claps back at critics bashing him for fourth-quarter shooting woes

James Harden and the LA Clippers continue to have ups and downs, as they look to overcome their early struggles and build some momentum in the Western Conference. On Wednesday, the team got back on track after their 131-117 road win over the Sacramento Kings (10-7).

The LA franchise was coming off a home loss to the reigning champions, the Denver Nuggets (113-104), in a game where the Nuggets outscored them 36-16 in the fourth quarter.

On Wednesday, though, the Clippers had no desire to blow up their lead again, they led by eight after 12 minutes (35-27) and 22 at halftime (72-50), cruising to the victory.

The superstar trio of James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 79 points, while the fourth megastar, Russell Westbrook, had nine points, five rebounds and eight assists coming off the bench.

"It's not even about the fourth quarter," Harden said afterwards, via ESPN. "It's about the entire game. It's just me knowing what the hell I'm supposed to be doing and doing it."

"This is the first time I've heard that. I don't really -- I live in like the real world to where I control what I can control, focus on what I got to do every single day and that's all I can control," the former NBA MVP added on his fourth-quarter shooting.

Ty Lue shares excitement about James Harden's performance vs Kings

James Harden scored 17 of his 26 points in the opening quarter vs Sacramento, finishing the game with six assists and five steals, on 8/14 shooting and 5/8 from beyond the arc.

The All-Star guard helped set the tempo for the Clippers and got high praise from coach Ty Lue afterwards.

"I think James just wanted to prove to y'all that he is James Harden. And so he can do that on a nightly basis," coach Lue said, via ESPN.

"That's what it should look like, guys. That's what it should look like right there. Now we got to duplicate it again and again and again."

The Clippers are trying to be more consistent following the addition of James Harden. They are struggling, but have showed improvement after going 0-5 in the start of the Harden era.

Now at 8-9, the Clippers will look to build some momentum as they visit San Francisco to play the Golden State Warriors, who are off to a rough start as well (8-10 record) and have lost eight of their last 10.