Entering the month of December, it was a fair assumption to make that the Los Angeles Clippers' season was a disaster. They held a 5-15 record, which got down to 6-21 after their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 18th. A defeat against the team that owns their first-round pick seemed fitting, especially since they started to turn it around.

Since that loss to the Thunder, the Clippers have gone 10-2, with their 10th win coming on Monday night at home against the Charlotte Hornets. The job is far from over, but the Clippers end Monday night just a game back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the 10th seed in the Western Conference, and a shot at a potential playoff spot with that.

Leading the way for the Clippers' offense on Monday was James Harden, as the star guard posted 32 points and 10 assists to go along with four steals on the night. While he's allowed Kawhi Leonard to take over during this run, his role as an elite second option is still crucial to this offense.

After the game, Harden spoke to reporters regarding the team's turnaround, citing what he thinks has led to this run.

"I think defensively, we're pretty solid. That's a game-changer right there. Like I've said before, confidence is still there, you know what I mean. Confidence isn't going anywhere. It's a matter of us figuring out how to turn this thing around. We've got some pretty good steps going in the right direction. We just got to continue to do it even better," Harden said.

The Hornets actually shot better than the Clippers from the field on Monday (49% vs 45%), but LA had five turnovers to Charlotte's 10, as well as converting eight more threes than them. Even though ex-Clippers center Moussa Diabate dominated the glass for the Hornets, it wasn't enough to swing the game in his team's favor.

Over this 12-game run, the Clippers have held their opponents under 110 points in 10 of their contests, with the other two instances being the two losses to the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. Allowing just 105.5 points per game over these 12 games, it would rank first in the NBA this season by a wide margin.

Looking at the upcoming schedule, the Clippers will conclude their brief homestand on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards and will play just four more home games after that, before hosting All-Star Weekend at their own Intuit Dome.