The Wall can’t stop loss in Intuit Dome opener

LOS ANGELES — The start of the 2024-25 season marks a new era for the Los Angeles Clippers, who played the Phoenix Suns in their home opener at the Intuit Dome on Wednesday.

“It’s a huge day for Clippers basketball, our fans and ownership,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said about opening the season in the new venue. 

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer spent $2 billion on the arena. Before it opened its doors to the public on Wednesday, he spent time outside the arena amongst the fans as a “Let’s go Clippers” chant started to break out.

Ballmer was around the fans again in the minutes leading up to game time, dancing and cheering before grabbing a microphone to say “Welcome home Clipper Nation!”

Here are some takeaways from the Clippers’ season opener:

The Wall, Clippers fans make their presence felt

Ballmer’s new venue features “The Wall,” a supporters section located behind the opposing team’s basket and strictly for Clippers fans. The section’s intent is to help create a distraction for the opposing team.

“I love the wall they have,” Suns forward Kevin Durant said after the game. “It was insane. … It was crazy, I was just staring at it the whole time. You’re not used to that.”

Final: Suns 116, Clippers 113 (OT)

Clippers guard James Harden was asked to lead the way for the Clippers, who were playing without star forward Kawhi Leonard.

Harden was in a limited role last year among a star-studded lineup that also featured Paul George and Russell Westbrook. Following the departure of both players, Harden moves into a different role in his second season with Los Angeles.

Harden shot 10 of 28 from the field and collected 12 rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes. The veteran had a chance to further extend the game to a second overtime period but missed the second of two free throw attempts that would’ve tied the game.

Harden believes there’s still room to play better by taking better shots and limiting his turnovers but remained encouraged by what he saw from his squad.

“A lot of positives coming out of that game,” Harden said. “I think we played extremely hard and that’s going to be our calling every single game.”

Clippers guard Norm Powell scored the first points of the game before going on to lead all scorers at halftime with 11 points. The Clippers finished the first half on a 10-2 scoring run in the final 2:32 of the second quarter but it was the Suns who took a 47-39 lead into the locker room.

Harden led a second-half charge, scoring 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter.

Center Ivica Zubac scored six points early in the third quarter to help close the gap for the Clippers, who matched the Suns at 51 with 7:33 left in the period. The Suns’ biggest lead of the game was 14 while the Clippers did not hold a lead larger than 10 points.

Clippers set own expectations

Harden mentioned that he has not missed the playoffs at any point during his career and doesn’t expect this year to be any different.

The Clippers are projected to finish with a 41-41 record and a 40% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s NBA Power Index.

Harden is aware of the expectations that NBA analysts and pundits have for his team but believes the Clippers will stay true to their internal expectations.

“Our entire team has a lot to prove,” Harden said. “There’ve been many times where I’ve been on teams told they weren’t good enough but we made people believe in us. This is another opportunity for that and I think we have a lot of guys in this locker room who have that mindset and I’m excited about what we have.”

Kawhi Leonard’s injury status

Leonard was unavailable for Wednesday’s game against the Suns and could be out for several weeks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Leonard underwent a knee procedure during the offseason to address swelling.

“We have to have an identity of playing hard and competing at a high level,” Harden said. “There are some things we have to correct but even when Kawhi comes back that’s still our identity.”

Leonard averaged 23.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season.

(This story was updated to change a photo.)