The show started Wednesday night with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer standing with fans on the east side of his palace called Intuit Dome in an area known as “The Wall.” Ballmer did a frantic dance with the fans in his $2 billion venue before taking the microphone.

“Welcome home, Clippers Nation,” Ballmer roared.

Indeed, this is the Clippers’ new home after 25 years at Staples Center/Crypto.com Arena, where they shared it with the Lakers and the NHL’s Kings.

It was the Clippers’ first game in Inglewood and it came without their biggest star, Kawhi Leonard, who missed the game due to recurring inflammation in his right knee. They were also missing their second-best player in Paul George, who left for the Philadelphia 76ers this summer.

So it was up to Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, star forward James Harden and a defense they’ve boasted all preseason to matter most.

A look at the Intuit Dome before Wednesday’s game.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The curtain fell for good on the Clippers after they were unable to perform in the clutch, dropping a 116-113 game to the Suns in overtime.

Harden had 29 points, but he was just 10-for-28 from the field and finished the game without a key free throw and had eight turnovers.

Harden missed the second of two free throws with 4.8 seconds left, leaving the Clippers down one point in the extra five minutes of play.

After Jusuf Nurkic made two free throws for a three-point Suns lead, Harden couldn’t handle an inbound pass from Amir Coffey, leading to another turnover and the end of the game.

The game against the Suns in their own building was called a “big day for Clippers basketball” by Lue.

“I’m very happy for our fans, happy for our players, happy for the organization,” Lue said. “And you see that the arena speaks for itself. There is none better in the world.”

When asked for an update on Leonard, Lue said it was the same as last week, when the Clippers said the All-Star forward would be out indefinitely but had “made progress.”

“He’s feeling pretty good and getting better,” Lue said. “I just need to tick all the boxes, but he’s making progress and he’s feeling pretty good.”

The Clippers’ James Harden is introduced at the Intuit Dome prior to Wednesday’s game.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Leonard was a strong player for the Clippers last season, playing in 68 games, the most in his five years with the Clippers. He averaged 23.7 points per game and 6.1 rebounds. He shot 52.5% from the floor, 41.7% from three-point range.

That’s what the Clippers are missing.

“With Kawhi out, you lose the best defenseman and you lose the scoring potential — 25, 26 points a night,” Lue said. “You lose a guy who demands a double team most nights. So we have to figure out how to play fast, play freely, get into space but not get over dribble – I mean dribble happy. So we will miss a lot of his abilities on the floor, but we just have to make up for it collectively.”