The Clippers defeated the Magic miserably, Harden scored 31+5+9, who is the best player in this game?

The Clippers have been in dismal form recently and have suffered two consecutive losses. Their record has dropped to 4 wins and 10 losses, ranking 11th in the Western Conference. Looking at the opponent Magic, ESPN's winning rate prediction is as high as 69%, while the Clippers are only 31%. Facing the Magic, who have superior strength and status, it will be interesting to see whether the Clippers, who are in deep trouble, can reverse their decline in this contest and strive for a glimmer of hope. But today's first half of the Clippers' away game against the Magic turned into Harden's "single-core recital." The core guard tried his best to score 24 points in the half, accounting for nearly half of the team's scores. However, his teammates were collectively out of shape and weak on offense and defense. At the end of the half, the Clippers were already 12 points behind at 49:61, making Harden's crazy output a "empty score." Magic guard Suggs had a hot touch, scoring 20 points to lead the team to more success and firmly controlling the rhythm of the game. No surprise, after four quarters of fierce fighting, the Clippers were defeated 101:129.

As soon as the game started, Dunn of the Clippers hit a mid-range shot, giving the team a good start. But the Magic didn't give them too many chances, and soon hit a 9:1 spurt. Silva and Carter scored layups one after another, immediately establishing a lead. Seeing that the team was about to be widened, Harden stepped forward and made three-pointers with his hands raised. After breaking through and drawing fouls, he also made steady free throws. He contributed 10 points in a single quarter and clinched the score. The two sides alternately scored points. At 21:23, the Magic suddenly exerted force and launched another 7:3 offensive. Finally, Isaac made a putback dunk to end the game. At the end of the first quarter, the Magic led the Clippers 30:24. On the Magic side, Suggs had already scored 10 points in a single quarter, becoming a surprise player that disrupted the Clippers' defense.

Entering the second quarter, the Clippers started off with some momentum. A 7:0 climax directly narrowed the point difference, and they were about to tie or even overtake. But the Magic immediately responded with a wave of 8:0, once again opening up the lead and bringing the Clippers' counterattack momentum to an abrupt end. At this time, Harden completely started the "no solution mode". First, he broke through and drew a foul and made three free throws, and then hit a key three-pointer. He scored 11 points in a short period of time, desperately trying to lead the team to catch up. But unfortunately, his teammates were really weak. Except for Collins who scored 6 points, no one else scored in double figures. No one could step up to share the offensive pressure.

Looking at the magic side, it's a completely different scene. Suggs continued his hot touch in the first quarter and hit another key three-pointer. Silva and Black also took turns to make contributions. The whole team passed the ball smoothly and cooperated tacitly. The multi-point offense made the Clippers defense focus on one thing and the other. At halftime, the Magic not only maintained a 12-point lead, but also completely suppressed the Clippers in terms of momentum.

To be the most eye-catching player in the first half, Harden is definitely the only one. He only played 18 minutes and made 5 of 10 shots, including 4 of 8 three-pointers and 10 of 12 free throws. He scored 24 points efficiently and also scored 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Whether it was a three-pointer from the outside or a breakthrough to the inside to cause damage, Harden tried his best. Every time the team fell into a scoring drought, he stood up to break the deadlock and single-handedly maintained the Clippers' competitiveness. But even if he played so well, he couldn't withstand the "collective pull" of his teammates.

Zubac, who played 18 minutes with Harden, only made 2 of 7 shots and scored 4 points. Fortunately, he grabbed 13 rebounds, which can be regarded as a contribution to rebound protection. He barely made up for it and became the only support point for the Clippers inside. Collins' performance was actually quite good, with 6 points on 3 of 5 shots, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. The offensive efficiency was not low, but the problem was that he had too few shooting opportunities. The coaching staff obviously did not design enough tactics for him, which resulted in his offensive potential not being fully realized and unable to relieve Harden's pressure.

The performance of other role players was even more disappointing. Dunn played 15 minutes and scored 4 points on 2 of 5 shots. He also had 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. He was conscientious on the defensive end, but the help he could provide on the offensive end was very limited. Rookie Sanders was completely out of form. He made 1 of 6 shots and missed all 3 three-pointers. In the end, he only relied on free throws to get 3 points and 1 rebound. The offensive efficiency was ridiculously low.

The performance of the bench was even more disastrous. Paul only played 6 minutes and scored 2 points on 1 of 3 shots, plus 1 rebound and 2 assists. He did not show the style of the superstar in the past; Luo played 5 minutes and only scored 3 points on 1 of 4 shots.

Looking at the Magic, Suggs' performance was amazing. He played 17 minutes and made 7 of 11 shots, including 4 of 7 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws. While scoring 20 points, he also scored 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks, with a plus-minus value of +9. Whether it was in-and-out shooting on the offensive end, or steals and blocks on the defensive end, Suggs did an outstanding job. He provided huge help to the team on both offense and defense, and became a key figure in the Magic's ability to firmly control the game.

The Clippers' performance in the first half was completely stretched on both offense and defense. The offensive end relies too much on Harden's single-core leadership, and his teammates' shooting efficiency is low. No one can provide effective support to Harden, resulting in the team's offensive rhythm being chaotic and low scoring efficiency. On the defensive end, the frame protection is weak and the rotation is not timely, giving the Magic a lot of easy layups and secondary offensive opportunities.

After the start of the third quarter, the Clippers' condition still showed no improvement. They lost another 5 points at 27:32 in the single quarter, further widening the point difference. In the fourth quarter, both sides sent out substitutes for training, but the Clippers still failed to reverse the decline. They lost to their opponents at 25:36 in a single quarter, and finally lost 101:129 by 28 points, suffering a three-game losing streak..

In this campaign, Harden was the only fig leaf for the Clippers. He only played 30 minutes and made 8 of 16 shots, 5 of 11 three-pointers, and 10 of 12 free throws. He efficiently contributed 31 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. He tried his best to lead the team's counterattack, and it was an honor to lose. Zubac scored a double-double of 14 points and 19 rebounds, but fell into an empty cut. As the core of the inside, he only made 7 of 16 shots, and his offensive efficiency was sluggish.

The rest of the players performed well. Collins had 9 points and 4 rebounds, Sanders had 6 points and 2 rebounds, and Dunn had 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Their contributions were mediocre. The bench was even more miserable. Bogdanovic only scored 6 points on 2 of 9 shots. Christie and Reedhauser each scored 6 points. Paul had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Batum and Mobes only scored 3 points. Except for Harden and Zubac, no one on the team can shoulder the heavy responsibility of offense and defense.

The Magic flourished more, with 6 players scoring in double figures. Suggs was in hot form, scoring 23 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists, Wagner contributed 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Silva scored 17 points and 8 rebounds, and Bain had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. The bench was equally strong, with Blake scoring 12 points and Bitadze contributing 10 points and 6 rebounds. All members worked hard to help the team win easily.