Rematch gets a light start

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and Clippers coach Doc Rivers said they never brought up the emotions and events from the previous meeting of the Rockets and Clippers. But Rivers did find humor when the topic predictably came up.

After initially taking issue with the term “ugliness,” countering with “We won,” he joked about it.

“We barricaded all the secret passages,” Rivers said. “Honestly, I haven’t heard one guy talk about it. It’s their team we want to beat. Right now, them and Golden State in the West are the best, probably the best two teams in basketball. I honestly don’t think we’re on their radar that much, except they want to beat us. We beat them twice.”

Rockets players had already said that was all they had in mind.

“It’s nothing at all,” Rockets guard Chris Paul said. “For us, it’s about us coming in and being prepared. All I’m doing going into this game is making sure my guys are prepared and ready to play.”

D’Antoni said he felt no need to talk to his players about the previous game, when Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green went into the Clippers’ locker room and earned two-game suspensions.

“These are grown men,” D’Antoni. “I don’t even have to talk about it. It happened. We didn’t want it to happen. It did. We move on. It won’t happen again.”

Rivers, however, said the Clippers made sure.

“We’re going to build a wall,” he said. “And Houston is going to pay for it.”

Schedule maker rankles Rivers

The Clippers faced the Rockets in the second half of a back-to-back. But Clippers coach Doc Rivers said his issue was with having to play in Denver, in a late start, as part of that set of two games in as many nights.

“I complain to the league all the time about the schedule. Like yesterday’s game, they moved it to 8:30 and we have a back-to-back,” Rivers said. “That’s not cool to do, especially in Denver when there is an hour drive to the airport. Denver is a place there should be no back-to-backs either way.”

Gordon back in the rotation

Rockets guard Eric Gordon returned to the Rockets’ rotation on Wednesday against the Clippers, assuming his usual spot in the rotation subbing in for Chris Paul. But there was less of Gordon than when he last played.

After a bout with food poisoning, Gordon said he dropped eight to 10 pounds, but no longer felt other effects of his illness.

Gordon had not played since Feb. 13 in Minneapolis. He missed the Rockets’ first three games after the break.

“No matter how good a shape you’re in, when you’re out for a week, you feel out of shape for a week,” Gordon said. “I’m trying to get back into playing and trying to feel strong again. It’s going to take these next couple games to get all the way back.

“It was tough to deal with. I had food poisoning and a fever. But I feel a lot better now. I couldn’t tell you (what made him sick) but I was messed up.”

Anderson, Wright hurting

Rockets forward Ryan Anderson (sore left hip) and center Brandan Wright (sore right knee) will be reexamined in the next few days when the team returns to Houston after missing the past two games. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, however, said he was hopeful neither would have a “longterm” issue.

“I don’t know about long-term, maybe a couple more games,” D’Antoni said. “I don’t know, but they’re going to get checked when we get back and we’ll have more information.”