Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets: Game 5 Grades and Analysis
James Harden posted a triple-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Dwight Howard added 20 points and 15 boards and the Houston Rockets routed the Los Angeles Clippers, 124-103, at the Toyota Center on Tuesday night to force a Game 6 in their second-round Western Conference playoff series.
The Rockets used a 36-point second quarter to take control. Harden poured in 14 points during the period, which helped send Houston into halftime with a 63-48 lead.
Despite 30 points and 16 rebounds from Blake Griffin, the Clippers were never able to recover.
The Rockets shot a blazing 54 percent from the floor and scored 64 points in the paint. They did not shoot the three-ball particularly well, going 9-of-29 from beyond the arc, but their dominance inside rendered that insignificant.
Head coach Kevin McHale felt that this was the first time Houston played its game all series, per Red Nation Hoops:
By contrast, the Clippers made only 42 percent of their shots and scored 46 points in the paint. They also went just 18-of-31 from the free-throw line.
As you can imagine, head coach Doc Rivers was not enthralled with his team's performance, per CBS Sports:
What's more, Houston outscored Los Angeles 17-3 in fast-break points and out-rebounded Griffin and Co. 58-39.
Game 6 is at the Staples Center on Thursday night at 10:30 p.m. ET. Catch the action on ESPN.
| Chris Paul | A |
| Blake Griffin | A+ |
| DeAndre Jordan | B |
| J.J. Redick | D- |
| Jamal Crawford | F |
| Rest of Team | D |
| James Harden | A |
| Dwight Howard | A |
| Josh Smith | B |
| Trevor Ariza | A |
| Terrence Jones | B- |
| Rest of Team | A |
Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul: A
Remember that hamstring injury Chris Paul had? Well, it seems like that is a thing of the past now.
Paul looked terrific in Game 5, weaving through traffic, changing speeds and stopping on dimes. He scored 22 points off 9-of-16 shooting, burying four three-pointers.
Paul added 10 assists as well.
The Clippers may have lost this game, but they can take a huge positive out of it: CP3 looks like he is 100 percent.
Blake Griffin: A+
Griffin put forth yet another brilliant performance.
The big man posted 30 points and 16 rebounds, dominating his defenders in one-on-one situations and making some nice plays in transition.
Griffin also did an incredible job of keeping possessions alive, with six of his boards coming on the offensive end.
He shot 12-of-21 and committed only one turnover.
DeAndre Jordan: B
DeAndre Jordan ran into some foul trouble in the first half and never fully recovered.
He put up solid numbers, tallying 13 points and 11 boards, but his inability to stay on the floor for prolonged stretches hurt the Clippers defensively.
Jordan recorded only one block and, due to his foul situation, was not able to contest shots at the rim like he normally does.
J.J. Redick: D-
J.J. Redick had been having a great series up until Game 5.
The sharpshooting 2-guard was grounded Tuesday night, scoring only nine points off a paltry 3-of-12 clip. He missed seven of his eight three-point attempts and was unable to free himself for clean looks.
Redick rushed some of his shots, perhaps because the wing was trying to get himself into a rhythm. It didn't pan out.
Jamal Crawford: F
Chalk up another poor playoff performance for Jamal Crawford.
Crawford labored with his shot all game, making just two of his 10 field-goal attempts and going 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.
As always, many of his shots were bad takes early in the shot clock.
He scored five points and did not make a dent in the rest of the stat sheet, except for fouls, where he had three.
Rest of Team: D
Spencer Hawes was the only positive here.
Hawes scored 11 points and made five of his seven shots, including a deep three-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire during the second quarter.
He also contributed five rebounds.
Austin Rivers tallied eight points, but he did so off an inefficient 3-of-11 clip.
Matt Barnes was nothing short of horrendous, going 1-of-8 from the field in 23 minutes.
Houston Rockets
James Harden: A
Despite battling an illness, Harden was great in the win. He had an IV earlier in the day, per ClutchFans:
The All-Star posted a triple-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 dimes. He shot 9-of-20, going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. He went 1-of-7 from three-point range, however, and many of those attempts were well-contested.
Harden did most of his damage in that crucial second quarter, when the Rockets took control. He poured in 14 points during the period, including a fall-away jumper right before the buzzer. Harden was aggressive throughout that entire stretch, imposing his will on the contest.
Fortunately, his five turnovers did not hurt Houston.
Dwight Howard: A
Howard was outstanding.
The star center forced his way into the paint all night, throwing down big dunks and using his bulk to create space for easy buckets. He did miss a couple of bunnies, but for the most part, Howard was dominant inside, scoring 20 points off a 7-of-14 clip.
Howard cleaned the glass, too, grabbing 15 rebounds, with five coming on the offensive end.
Finally, he was great defensively, helping to cut off driving lanes and preventing pick-and-roll buckets by the Clippers.
Dwight's only blemish? You guessed it: free-throw shooting. He went 6-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Josh Smith: B
Josh Smith started in Game 5, and he was solid.
Smith displayed his versatility, doing a great job of setting up his teammates with thread-the-needle types of passes and finding backdoor cutters for lobs.
This was precisely the reason McHale started Smith, per Adam Wexler of KPRC-TV:
He also shot the ball well, going 4-of-7 from the floor and draining a big triple in the fourth quarter.
Smith finished with nine points, seven boards and four assists.
Trevor Ariza: A
Trevor Ariza may have been the most consistent Rockets player in Game 5.
The swingman contributed 22 points off an 8-of-12 clip, connecting on four of his six long-range attempts.
Ariza did a tremendous job of spreading the floor and picking his spots, nailing backbreaking treys and taking good shots.
He was good defensively, too, collecting three steals and getting his team out in transition as a result.
Ariza added eight rebounds.
Terrence Jones: B-
Terrence Jones came off the bench in this one, but he had a nice game.
While he struggled to defend Griffin in one-on-one situations, he gave Houston a good boost offensively, scoring 12 points off 5-of-8 shooting.
Jones was able to pull the Clippers big men away from the basket due to the threat of his shooting from the perimeter and helped the Rockets offense significantly in doing so.
He chipped in five rebounds during his 24 minutes.
Rest of Team: A
Corey Brewer provided a huge lift for the Rockets off the pine, recording 15 points off a 5-of-8 clip. He also went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, an area where he has had some trouble in this postseason. Brewer's energy was infectious, and his putback slam off a missed Jones three-pointer may have been the biggest momentum play of the evening.
Jason Terry was great, too, hitting three triples and scoring 11 points in total. Terry's ability to distribute the basketball was the most impressive aspect of his outing, though. He totaled seven assists and made some dazzling passes, particularly in transition.
Finally, Clint Capela was awesome in reserve, scoring eight points off a perfect 4-of-4 clip. He had a monster throwdown over Hawes and did a great job of finishing lob passes.
