Clippers 109, Rockets 104
Defense keeps shorthanded L.A. in check
Kelly Olynyk, John Wall and Christian Wood each have double-doubles but falter in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets pulled off the first half of the plan. They had to keep the Clippers, the best 3-point shooting team ever, to misfire from deep and they did.
had shoot own much than They not, up the They short fourth to coming 3pointers usual. could their better also in Center. quarter held on, as 109-104, the Clippers in Toyota
1:20 nine-point The remaining Rockets lead and cut to four a got late with the stop Zubac went they to missing Christian needed inside. Wood with They Ivica inside but free made throws, and just he giving was one fouled, of him two 24 points to go with 19 rebounds. ball The out Rockets of Paul doubled George’s the hands missed and a 3. Terrence But when Mann Reggie rebound, Jackson the ran Clippers down the used enough one possession time to game. make it a the George Rockets missed, had but to put when up a 3-pointer, Kelly Olynyk missed and George closed out the win from the line. John Wall led the Rockets with 27 points and 13 assists. But as sensational as the needed him Wall first to take had more. half, over been the They defensively, Rockets through needed too.
Wall picked up Paul George, who had 20 in the first half, and held him to three third-quarter points. Without George to carry the severely shorthanded lineup, the Clippers made just 5 of 22 shots in the quarter, missing all seven of their 3s and scoring just 11 points, their fewest in a quarter this season and the fewest the Rockets have allowed.
The Rockets took their lead to seven before the Clippers’ offense woke up. They scored eight points in a span of 31 seconds, with Reggie Jackson draining consecutive 3s in a reminder of how the Clippers have had the best offense and best 3-point shooting in NBA history this season.
Wood scored inside before Jackson put in another, giving the Clippers as many field goals in five minutes as they had in the entire third quarter. With the Clippers continuing to score easily through a 16-4 run, they used the zone they had tried in the second quarter to shut down the Rockets, packing the paint and joining the list of teams letting them misfire from deep.
As much as the Clippers were missing too many players to shoot 3s the way they normally do, the Rockets did shoot the way they do.
Until then, the Rockets had matched up well. The Clippers were without regulars Kawhi Leonard, Pat Beverley, Marcus Morris and Rajon Rondo while the Rockets typically went from a bit of good news to the bad. While Danuel House Jr. came back after missing 10 games with a sprained ankle, Avery Bradley was ruled out with an illness, leaving the Rockets with just two guards.
If Bradley cannot return Saturday, the Rockets would be down to one guard, rookie Armoni Brooks, with Wall to sit out the second game of the back-to-back.
Wall, however, played as if he was determined to make the most of the game he would play.
The Rockets had stood toe-to-toe with the NBA’s best offensive team through the first half, with the Clippers adjusting to having so many players out by making much of their offense all about George.
The Rockets, however, did have an answer. Wall had his best half with the Rockets, his first doubledouble half since January 2018. Wall had 16 points with 10 assists and just one turnover in the half.
The Rockets began the second half on a run and built a shaky lead. The defensive turnaround worked for a while, until the Clippers needed just one good run to put the Rockets just out of reach.