Late and not so great in Los Angeles
A disastrous third quarter leads to a loss to the Clippers in the Rockets’ final road game of the regular season.
LOS ANGELES – The game meant nothing, which matched the desire the Rockets put into it. But as they took the punishment the Clippers administered for the Rockets’ severe lack of interest, being “re-accommodated” off a United Airlines flight seemed gentle.
The Rockets’ charter home for the regular-season finale will be more understanding. But the Rockets did not have to look hard to find a better way to reach the postseason.
The Clippers pounded the Rockets 125-96 on Monday night in Staples Center, taking their sixth consecutive win and a sufficient roll into the playoffs. The Rockets lost for the fifth time in the eight games since their Sunday win against the Thunder, with the three wins all against teams with losing records.
Not that costly
That cost the Rockets nothing in the standings but demolished any momentum they might have had from that day rolling up numbers against the team they will face in the postseason.
By the time they reached Monday’s game for the second half of a back-to-back, they were short-handed and short on interest. They would soon have more of their regulars on the bench than available for the game. The Rockets did not move past their lowestscoring game of the season until the final minute.
Nene, Lou Williams, Pat Beverley and Clint Capela were given the night off, rather than to play with ailments Mike D’Antoni said were too minor to be worth description. Ryan Anderson played only in the first half, scoring 12 points before he was through, part of the plan as he works his way back from the two weeks out with an ankle injury.
James Harden played seven minutes in the second half before he, too, was pulled for the night, sitting with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists, just four points and no assists after the first quarter.
By halftime, the Rockets seemed to have lost any interest they might have had. With the Rockets unable to knock down shots and the absences of so many rotation players, especially the centers, becoming conspicuous and more than the Rockets could overcome, they put up little resistance as the Clippers easily built a 28-point lead.
Low point of season
The Rockets’ 12 thirdquarter points were their fewest in a quarter this season. They were 5-of-21 from the field in the quarter and had benched every member of their rotation, save Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza who had been given the night off on Sunday in Sacramento.
Gordon led the Rockets with 17 points, with Troy Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Bobby Brown adding 15 each, which said a great deal about the contributions of the Rockets’ regulars.