LOS ANGELES – He just doesn’t look the same.

James Harden, the NBA’s second-leading scorer and one of the leaders for the MVP, is in a mini-slump.

On Thursday night in Salt Lake City, Harden stood along the perimeter looking for a pass. Then there were times he did drive the lane only to see a shot get blocked or fail to go in.

When Harden’s evening was over against the Utah Jazz, he finished with 15 points in 34 minutes and the Rockets lost 109-91. In plus/minus, Harden finished with a minus-16.

During the Rockets' four-game road trip (1-2 so far), Harden has struggled with his shot. He needs to start finding it again as the team prepares for Sunday’s clash against the Clippers.

Harden is shooting just 35.2 percent from the floor in the last three games and has misfired on his last 10 3-point attempts.

“I’m not worried about myself, just the small things,” Harden said. “I think if we rebound the basketball -- I think most of these games we got outrebounded, by a large margin -- if we rebound the basketball, my rhythm will come and our team rhythm will come."

The lack of rebounding has hurt Harden’s ability to get the ball in transition so he can do what he does best: drive to the basket and draw fouls. Even his wonderful step-back jumper is off, maybe because he’s tired of defenders hanging on his every move.

“You have to ask him,” coach Kevin McHale said of Harden’s energy level after the Thursday night loss.

Harden’s shot just isn’t there. In the last three games, Harden is 1-for-11 on uncontested jumpers (5-for-9 in the previous two games).

Maybe he will find it -- and inspiration -- against the Clippers as he’s playing in front of family and friends in his hometown.

According to NBA.com's player tracking statistics, Harden averages 76.3 touches per game and has more total touches (4,808) than point guards Jeff Teague, Brandon Knight and Michael Carter-Williams. Of all players in the NBA with 4,000-plus touches, no one generates more points per touch than Harden (0.352).

In a victory against Detroit on March 6, Harden touched the ball 84 times; he made 41 passes and scored 38 points. Starting with the road trip in Denver on March 7, Harden’s touches have dropped to the mid-60s. He touched the ball 66 times against Utah and attempted 39 passes.

The wear and tear of the season could be getting to him now.

Near the end of the first half against Utah, Harden leaned in to get a loose ball but held up slightly, thinking the ball was going out of bounds. Utah’s Rudy Gobert, he of the 22-rebound and 19-point night, reached over Harden and knocked the ball off him out of bounds. Jazz ball. Harden stood there, hands on hips, with a frustrated/weary look on his face.

When Harden drives to the hoop, good things happen for the Rockets. Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images

“He controls the ball a lot. That’s what we want, the ball in his hands,” Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley said. “He makes plays all the time.

"We as a unit have to stay locked in and support him when he makes open jump shots and stay aggressive, and we need to get stops.”

Harden does his best work off rebounds where he can run the floor and become a playmaking threat. If rebounds aren’t coming, it stalls the Rockets' offense because Harden and the rest of the group can’t push the ball up the floor quickly.

“It makes it hard, especially the way we like to get out on transition,” Harden said. “We can’t get any stops. We’re getting stops on the initial set, but those offensive rebounds, [opponents] keep getting them, and it takes our energy away a little bit.”

A dominant player, Harden is effective when he attacks the basket. He averages 7.9 points per game on drives, which leads the league, where he’s compiled a 48.4 field goal percentage.

For all of this, Harden remains in the MVP race.

But it's taken its toll. Harden has gotten beaten up most of the season. The nasty scar across the top of his left hand -- his shooting hand -- is another example of just how he’s getting pushed, grabbed and knocked down.

And now, with the regular season entering the home stretch, he must end this slump to push the Rockets in a race for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and division nemesis, Memphis.

“We know teams are trying to key on him, and we got to give credit to Utah,” Beverley said. “He’s a great player and he’ll look at film, study it and break out of it. It’s not a problem.”