Rockets vs. Clippers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
The Houston Rockets thrashed the Los Angeles Clippers 122-103 Wednesday night at Staples Center behind 20 made threes and six double-figure scorers.
As if those numbers weren't impressive enough, the Rockets (43-19) also topped the century mark in a franchise-record 48th straight game, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
James Harden wasn't at his most prolific from a scoring standpoint, but he was rather efficient. In 36 minutes, the bearded maestro racked up 26 points on 7-of-15 shooting (4-of-9 from three, 8-of-8 on free throws) and nine assists to fuel Houston's charged offense.
Ryan Anderson flanked Harden to the tune of 23 points, and he poured in a flurry of buckets from beyond the arc (6-of-11) in the midst of the blowout, as the NBA showed on Twitter:
Then there was the unsung Patrick Beverley.
Although he didn't shine in the scoring column (14 points) like Harden or Anderson, Beverley stuffed his line with a game-high 12 boards, four dimes and a steal in a tone-setting performance, according to ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins:
Considering the Clippers (36-24) surrendered a 21st-ranked 108.9 points per 100 possessions in February, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the Rockets feasted out of spread pick-and-roll sets all night long.
The Rockets wielded seemingly unguardable lineups featuring four shooters and a single big, and they picked the Clippers apart to the tune of 70 first-half points, as the team's official Twitter account documented:
In fact, the Rockets were so dialed in that four scorers (Harden, Anderson, Eric Gordon and Clint Capela) were all in double-figures by the break.
The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen noted explosive offerings out of the gate have become more commonplace under head coach Mike D'Antoni:
The Clippers offense was effective in its own right with 12 threes and a double-double (16 points, 11 assists) from Chris Paul, but it didn't flaunt the supplementary scoring necessary to keep pace with Houston's heat-seeking attack.
By the time the third quarter was over, the deficit had ballooned to 30. And at that point, there wasn't even a glimmer of hope.
Of course, the Clippers didn't need Wednesday to know that they would have trouble with the Rockets.
Los Angeles was crushed by the Rockets 140-116 on Dec. 30 as defensive answers proved elusive, and that game should have served as fair warning for a team that needed to come out far sharper on defense.
But instead of channeling that initial loss into a more well-rounded effort, the Clippers floundered with a chance to exact revenge. As a result, they're now 1-3 since the All-Star break, with the lone win coming in overtime against the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 26.
Now in danger of losing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers will need to find their footing—and fast—if they want to stave off the Utah Jazz and cling to the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.
In order to do so, L.A. has to regroup as it preps for a tough road back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls that begins Friday.
The Rockets, however, will have two days off before the Memphis Grizzlies come to Toyota Center on Saturday to try to tame one of the NBA's hottest offenses.
Postgame Reaction
"They out-toughed us tonight," Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said, per ESPN.com's J.A. Adande. "They were the more driven team."
To that point, Paul was amazed by the rebounding disparity, per Adande:
"Clint's gonna be mad at me," Beverley said, according to ClutchFans on Twitter. "I think I took all his rebounds."
In fact, Beverley was so active on both ends that Rivers took time to single him out during his meeting with reporters.
"Today I thought Patrick Beverley was by far the best player on either team," he said, per Clippers.com's Rowan Kavner.
As for the rest of Houston's contributors, head coach Mike D'Antoni noted the Rockets performed to the best of their abilities.
According to Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver, D'Antoni said it was "probably our best game all year start to finish."
Stats courtesy of NBA.com.
