Rowan Kavner
HOUSTON – The Clippers are on the verge of history, but that’s not what they’re thinking about.
As the Clippers prepare for Tuesday’s game in Houston, with the chance to make the Western Conference Finals for the first time ever with a win, they’re not looking past Game 5 or thinking about history.
“We’ve got to go there, be hungry,” said Chris Paul. “In this situation, you can’t give teams confidence, you can’t give them life. We know they’re going to come out ready in Game 5. We’ve got to stay the hungrier team.”
The Clippers won back-to-back games at home to take a 3-1 lead against the Rockets as the series goes back to Houston, where the Clippers hope it will end.
Making it to the Western Conference Finals is a goal, as Blake Griffin put it, on the way to the bigger goal of winning an NBA championship. But before they can do that, the Clippers, who feel battle-tested after winning in seven games in the first round against the Spurs, need to finish off the Rockets.
“I love where we’re at, but the series isn’t over,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “We’ve got to keep playing. We’ve got to finish. They’re not going to just get out of our way, so we have to keep playing. We have to keep trusting.”
LAST TIME OUT
Clippers 128, Rockets 95 – With Dwight Howard in early foul trouble, the Rockets wasted no time intentionally fouling DeAndre Jordan, who set the record for most free throw attempts in a half with 28. It didn’t pay off for the Rockets, who still trailed by six points at halftime and watched the deficit get greater the rest of the night. The Clippers outscored the Rockets by 27 points in the second half. Jordan led the Clippers with 26 points and 17 rebounds.
6:30pm PT
NOTEWORTHY MATCHUP
DeAndre Jordan vs. Dwight Howard – A graphic went up on the video board during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s blowout win. It compared the stats from Game 4 between Jordan and Howard, with Jordan outscoring Howard by 19 points and outrebounding him by 11. Howard dealt with early foul trouble and had picked up his sixth foul and second technical foul in the beginning of the fourth quarter, ending his night early in frustration. If Jordan can again dominate that matchup, the Clippers are in good shape to wrap things up Tuesday.
TWO THINGS TO WATCH
Transition Game – When the Clippers make stops, it hasn’t been easy for the Rockets to stop what the Clippers do in transition. That’s part of what led to Austin Rivers’ breakout Game 3, and it was part of what led the Clippers to outscore the Rockets by 27 points in the second half of Game 4 while scoring five more fast-break points than Houston.
Boards Battle – The team with more rebounds has won each of the first four games of the series. The Clippers have at least 50 rebounds in each of their last two games against the Rockets, an achievement they only did once during the seven-game Spurs series. A lot of that has to do with the Clippers’ defense on the Rockets, forcing Houston to shoot worse than 43 percent in three of the four games this series. If they can get Howard into foul trouble again, the battle on the boards could belong to the Clippers once again.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Blake Griffin: “When you play a team like the Spurs in the first round and come out like that, it kind of gives you a feeling of accomplishment. Being down 2-1 early on the road, winning two games at their place, it just kind of gives you confidence as a team. But the whole season has led to this point.”
Matt Barnes: “We’re very confident in what we can do. We believe we’re the best team in the league and we need to prove every night that we’re the best team.”
Austin Rivers: “We know they’re going to come out with everything that they have, and we have to bring even more.”
NOTES: The Clippers have outscored the Rockets by 68 points in the series … The Clippers have held the Rockets to 33 percent or worse from 3-point range in three of the first four games of the series … The Clippers have shot better than 41 percent from 3-point range in three of the first four games of the series … The Rockets haven’t had more assists than the Clippers in a game this series … Dwight Howard was fined $15,000 for making contact above the shoulders on Matt Barnes in Game 4 … The Clippers’ bench outscored the Rockets’ bench, 41-23, in Game 4 …