Rockets vs. Clippers: Game 4 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NBA Playoffs

The Houston Rockets are one game away from elimination after falling 128-95 to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, it's the first time since 2001 that a team has won back-to-back playoff games by 25-plus points:

It's also Los Angeles' biggest playoff victory in franchise history.

The Clippers own a 3-1 series lead at this stage in the postseason for the first time, per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

DeAndre Jordan had a monster game, posting 26 points and 17 rebounds. Fourteen of his points came at the charity stripe, where he attempted 34 free throws for the game.

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul combined for 36 points in the win and got some much-needed rest in the fourth quarter with the Clippers way ahead. Austin Rivers had another solid game, going 5-of-9 from the floor for 12 points.

On the other side, James Harden again had a somewhat disappointing game. He only attempted 12 shots and scored 21 points. He also had eight rebounds and six assists, all of which feel hollow in Houston's lopsided loss.

Dwight Howard was never too far from the next foul call, so he was limited to roughly 19 minutes on the floor. He had seven points and six rebounds. The Rockets were also minus-28 when he was on the floor, the worst plus-minus of any Houston player.

With Howard in foul trouble for much of the first half and the Rockets largely unable to stop the Clippers offense for long stretches in the series, Houston head coach Kevin McHale determined the best way to slow down L.A. and throw the home team off its game was sending Jordan to the foul line—a lot.

The Clippers big man attempted 28 free throws through the first two quarters, knocking down 10. That set the record for most free throws in one half, per Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears:

Clippers head coach Doc Rivers talked about the persistent fouling after the game:

ESPN.com's Amin Elhassan tried to think of a way for Jordan to avoid getting manhandled on seemingly every possession:

The 2015 postseason has featured so many dramatic moments and close games that the constant "Hack-a-Jordan" really took the gloss off of Sunday's clash. It made the first 24 minutes of Game 4 a major slog and sucked any excitement out of the occasion.

Dan Woike of the Orange County Register wasn't looking forward to the second half if things didn't change:

Ultimately, "Hack-a-Jordan" wasn't much of a success. Houston trailed 60-54 at the half, and the constant stoppages in play only benefited the Clippers more. Paul and Griffin were afforded time to rest on the court, while Los Angeles was allowed to set up in a half-court defense more often rather than having to hurry back in transition, when the team would be more vulnerable.

The Cauldron's Andy Glockner felt the tactic illustrated McHale's lack of belief that the Rockets could compete with the Clippers in a regular game:

In truth, McHale's fears weren't unfounded. Los Angeles opened the third quarter on a 21-4 run and outscored Houston 43-25.

Houston's transition defense was almost nonexistent, and the team's lack of shooters was also laid bare. The two issues made for a toxic combination, as the Rockets couldn't score and then couldn't stop the Clippers from quickly getting buckets at the other end.

Los Angeles was enjoying itself, going full "Lob City" on the Rockets (via the NBA):

Griffin nearly posterized Howard with a dunk similar to his famous jam over Timofey Mozgov back in 2010. Howard was having none of it and opted to foul Griffin rather than suffer the ignominy of ending up in a highlight. The foul was somewhat hard, which led the referees to debate if Howard should be ejected from the game.

Paul hoped Howard remained in the game so he could be present for the rest of the beatdown:

Paul's protests merely delayed the inevitable. Howard eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter anyway, and by that time, it was already over.

The Rockets lacked any life or fight in the final period. Houston never mounted any sort of comeback, and Grantland's Zach Lowe felt it was content to get completely embarrassed in a playoff game:

ESPN's J.A. Adande believed the nature of the game allowed Rivers to give Paul the break he obviously needs as he recovers from his hamstring injury:

It's hard to see what McHale can do differently in Game 5 that will radically alter the Rockets' chances in this series. They are completely overmatched by the Clippers, and L.A. will only get stronger in this series as Paul gets back to 100 percent.

Maybe Houston can push the series to a Game 6, but the team's title hopes are on life support at this point.