Clippers-Rockets Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Jan 15 2013 12:37AM

The Los Angeles Clippers could be without their superstar point guard for a second straight game.

If their most recent contest was any indication, they should be just fine.

Chris Paul will likely be a game-time decision for the Clippers as they continue a three-game road trip Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets.

Paul is day-to-day with a bruised right kneecap and missed his first game of the season on Monday, but the Clippers (29-9) matched their second-largest victory margin of 2012-13 in a 99-73 win at Memphis.

He sustained the injury when he bumped knees with J.J. Redick while chasing a loose ball in Saturday's loss to Orlando. Results of an MRI were negative. Paul is second on the team at 16.8 points per game, second in the league in assists (9.7) and first in steals (2.6).

"I want to play. No question, I want to play," Paul told the team's official website. "If I feel like I hinder the team then I won't."

Eric Bledsoe had 14 points with four assists, two steals and no turnovers while making his first start in Paul's place. The third-year player came in averaging 8.4 points and 2.6 assists over 18.1 minutes.

"We've got to do a good job helping (Bledsoe) a little bit, too," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Guys have got to make shots and talk and we've got to put him in a position to be successful. He's got to control the tempo, control his turnovers and run the team. It's nothing he's not capable of doing."

The bench - a strength all year for Los Angeles ranking second in the league with 41.0 ppg - stepped up in a big way. The Clippers' reserves outscored Memphis' 54-26. Los Angeles is 22-6 when its bench outscores the opponent's.

"Missing the best point guard in the world in Chris Paul, we all had to play collectively and step it up, and I thought we did a good job of that," said Jamal Crawford, who scored 16 off the bench.

Houston (21-17) started its three-game trip on a five-game win streak, but went winless on the trek, capped by Saturday's 107-100 defeat to Philadelphia. A return home should help, as the Rockets have won seven of eight there.

"Every team goes through some adversity and we're going through some a little bit right now," coach Kevin McHale said. "We didn't win. We've got to find a way to win."

The Rockets are mired in a 3-point shooting slump, going 26 for 92 (28.3 percent) over their last three games. Starters James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin are a combined 13 of 50 (26.0 percent) during that span.

They've also been outrebounded in three straight games by an average of 4.3 and the last two opponents shot a combined 50.6 percent from the field.

"We're not rebounding the ball like we need to be and we're not getting stops," said Harden, the NBA's fourth-leading scorer at 26.5 ppg. "During that five-game winning streak we were getting stops and getting out in transition scoring the basketball. If we don't get stops it slows us down and that's key."

The Rockets probably wouldn't mind if Paul sat out a second straight game. He averaged 23.7 points, 8.3 assists and 3.0 steals while shooting 50.0 percent in three wins against them last season.

Los Angeles swept the season series after losing 13 of the previous 16 meetings.

Crawford scores 30 as Clips beat Rockets 117-109

By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Posted Jan 15 2013 11:34PM

HOUSTON (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers rarely lose when Jamal Crawford leads the team in scoring.

Crawford insisted it has very little to do with him after his latest such game - one the Clippers played without Chris Paul.

Crawford scored a season-high 30 points, including 12 straight to start the fourth quarter, and the Clippers looked just fine without Paul in a 117-109 win over the struggling Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

The Clippers won their second game in a row despite missing their star point guard, who is day to day with a bruised right kneecap.

Los Angeles used a big third quarter to take the lead, and Crawford extended the advantage to 20 by outscoring Houston 12-7 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Clippers improved to 11-1 this season when the 12-year veteran Crawford leads the team in scoring. Crawford seemed surprised when he learned of that statistic.

"It's everybody honestly," he said. "I've got the easy job just scoring, but Grant, Blake, all those guys put me in a position to score ... I just have to make the shots, they're doing all the hard work."

James Harden had 23 points for the Rockets, whose four-game losing streak is a season worst.

Los Angeles opened the second half with a 10-0 run to take a 68-59 lead with about nine minutes left in the third quarter. Eric Bledsoe, starting in place of Paul, scored the last five points in that span, ending it with a 3-pointer. Houston missed four shots and had a turnover as the Clippers built their lead.

"Willie did a great job for us in the third, and then Jamal obviously got going in the fourth to take over the game," Los Angeles coach Vinny Del Negro said.

The Rockets finally found some offense when Chandler Parsons scored their first points of the second half on a layup with 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. But the Clippers didn't let up, and Willie Green soon got hot. He scored eight points in less than a minute thanks in part to two turnovers by Omer Asik, extending the lead to 81-65.

His last three points in that span came when he was fouled on a two-handed dunk, bringing the entire Los Angeles bench to its feet, and then made the free throw.

Grant Hill was called for a foul on Toney Douglas late in the third quarter and Blake Griffin received a technical after jawing with officials following the call. Griffin was immediately pulled from the game and received an earful from coach Del Negro when he got to the bench.

"I think we just have to control ourselves a little bit more," Del Negro said. "We can't be wasting points. We got a few technicals tonight. I got one on a difficult call against us. We just have to do a better job."

Los Angeles entered the fourth quarter leading 90-77 after shooting 60 percent to just 38.9 percent by the Rockets in the third.

"We couldn't establish much defensively," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We played one side of the court, on the offensive end, in the third quarter. We just gave in in the third quarter. We didn't have what we needed to have."

Bledsoe and Griffin added 19 points apiece for the Clippers, and Matt Barnes had 18. Bledsoe's points were a season high and Green also had a season high with 15 points.

Crawford said the win was a perfect example of the way they want to play.

"That's what it's about. We do it collectively," he said. "We all pull for each other and we're all in it together and that's how we win."

Crawford had a spectacular run to start the fourth quarter where he made five straight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers to push the lead to 102-82. Houston called a timeout after his last bucket in that run and DeAndre Jordan dashed off the bench and met him for a celebratory jump and bump near center court.

The Rockets went on a 10-2 run later in the fourth quarter to pull to 108-96. But The Clippers responded with two 3-pointers sandwiched around a basket by Jeremy Lin to thwart the comeback attempt.

Harden was disappointed that the Rockets didn't get back on track in their one home game before four straight on the road.

"You can't do that, especially coming off a three-game road trip, a three-game losing streak," he said. "We've got to be better, especially on the defensive end. We've got to guard in order to win games. It's simple."

The Clippers were up by one point in the second quarter when Lamar Odom received his third foul. Del Negro received a technical for arguing the call and seconds later Odom was also giving a technical for arguing. Harden made just one of the two free throws, but Morris connected on a 3-pointer a few seconds later to give Houston a 39-36 lead.

Houston trailed by two about a minute later before using a 13-4 run to go on top 52-45 about 3 1/2 minutes before halftime. Los Angeles outscored the Rockets 13-7 for the rest of the quarter to cut the lead to 59-58 at halftime.

Parsons finished with 17 points and Lin added 12 points with 10 assists.

NOTES: Tuesday was Hill's 1,000th career game, making him the 20th active player to reach the mark. ... Houston Texans stars Arian Foster and Andre Johnson watched the game from courtside seats. Foster received a nice ovation from the crowd as he walked alongside the court to his seat in the third quarter. The Texans lost to New England in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

Notebook: Clippers 117, Rockets 109

Matt Miller, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Jan 16, 2013 12:56 AM - Updated Wed Jan 16, 2013 12:56 AM

THE FACTS: For the second night in a row, the Los Angeles Clippers did not need their superstar point guard to roll to a comfortable road victory.

Jamal Crawford scored 30 points on 11-for-20 shooting as the Clippers improved to 2-0 with Chris Paul (right knee contusion) out of the lineup by roughing up the Houston Rockets 117-109 Tuesday at Toyota Center. Eric Bledsoe, the starting point guard in Paul's absence, finished with a season-high 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Blake Griffin added 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting, a season-best eight assists and four boards for Los Angeles (30-9), which has won five of its last six games overall and nine of 11 on the road.

James Harden led Houston (21-18), which is riding a season-worst four-game losing streak, with 23 points but made only eight of 20 shot attempts. Carlos Delfino netted 16 points off the bench, while Jeremy Lin chipped in with 12 points and 10 assists.

QUOTABLE: "It's never about me. It's always those guys who do the little things that people don't really notice."

-- Clipper guard Jamal Crawford on what allows him to quickly light up the scoreboard

THE STAT: The Rockets are not known for playing strong transition defense, but they have been especially poor in this area over their last five games. L.A. became Houston's fourth opponent in its last five contests to pour in at least 20 points off turnovers. The Rockets have allowed an average of 23.2 points off giveaways in this stretch, during which they have earned only one win.

TURNING POINT: Houston, which entered halftime holding a 59-58 lead, was flattened for coming out flat after the break. The Clippers took full advantage, roughing up the Rockets in the post with Griffin and capitalizing on Houston's offensive dysfunction with transition dunks, layups and 3-pointers. L.A. scored on 10 of its first 11 possessions in the third quarter as it went on a 25-6 run to build an 83-65 advantage.

QUOTABLE II: "This team really has been unbelievable as far as everybody being on the same page. From day one, it felt like we were together for at least a year."

-- Griffin on the Clippers' team chemistry

HOT: Bledsoe has delivered in the two games Paul has been sidelined, averaging 16.5 points on 52.4 percent (11-for-21) shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals. Bledsoe has scored in double figures in back-to-back contests for the first time since Dec. 8-9, 2012.

NOT: The Rockets turned the charity stripe into the misery stripe for the second time in three games. Houston connected on only 56.0 percent (14-for-25) of its free-throw attempts, marking the second time in three contests it has missed at least 11 shots at the line.

GOOD MOVE: The Clippers fed Griffin in the paint early and often, exploiting the mismatch he had against Rockets forwards Patrick Patterson and Marcus Morris. In addition to drawing fouls, Griffin's dominance opened the court for his teammates to generate great looks and shoot a high percentage (53.8 percent overall, 57.9 percent from 3-point range).

BAD MOVE: Houston did not play like a desperate team that had just endured a winless road trip, as it allowed a short-handed squad playing on the second night of a back-to-back set to beat it in nearly every facet of the game. The Clippers' depth of talent cannot be ignored, but the young Rockets are lacking the urgency that is needed to compete with the top teams in this league.

QUOTABLE III: "They came out with much higher energy than we did. ... We just gave in, I thought, in the third quarter."

-- Rockets coach Kevin McHale on his team's third-period collapse

NOTABLE: L.A. coach Vinny Del Negro labeled Paul as a "game-time" decision for Thursday's tilt with the Minnesota Timberwolves. ... Clippers forward Grant Hill, who logged more than 16 minutes off the bench Tuesday, became the 20th active player to appear in at least 1,000 NBA games. ... With 30 victories in 39 games this season, L.A. has reached 30 wins faster than any other Clipper team in franchise history. ... Houston inserted Patterson into its starting lineup for the first time in 16 games. Patterson replaced Morris, who was coming off the bench at the beginning of the season before joining the starting five after Patterson suffered a right foot injury. ... The Clippers have won four consecutive games against the Rockets. ... L.A. improved to 11-1 this season when Crawford leads the team in scoring and 21-1 when Matt Barnes scores in double figures off the bench. ... The Clippers are now 10-0 on the road when they drain at least an equal percentage of field-goal attempts as their opponent. ... The Rockets fell to 7-14 against the Western Conference. ... Houston shot a lower percentage from the free-throw line (56.0 percent) than L.A. did from behind the arc (57.9 percent). ... Harden has scored at least 20 points in 21 consecutive games.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers: Thursday @ Minnesota, Saturday vs. Washington, Monday @ Golden State. For the Rockets: Wednesday @ Dallas, Friday @ Indiana, Saturday @ Minnesota.

• Clippers: Billups, Thompkins
• Rockets: Jones, White

• Clippers: Del Negro, Griffin, Odom
• Rockets: --

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Officials: #28 Zach Zarba, #33 Sean Corbin, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 16823
• Duration: 2:14