NBA Playoffs Rd 2/Game 1: Houston Rockets Misfire Against LA Clippers 117-101
The Rockets still had control at the start of the 2nd half but things started to unravel quickly as they couldn’t stop turning the ball over.
It was to the point of getting ridiculous that this was happening in a playoff game, let alone our team.
We’re better than that.
At the 4:37 mark, the Clippers took a lead for the first time since 2:20 of the 1st quarter when they went up 66-65 after a incredibly difficult-looking J.J. Redick runner that banked its way in.
The momentum shifted to the Clippers as they took control but Pablo Prigioni and Corey Brewer worked together to put the Rockets within one point –78-77 at the 46-second mark.
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At the end of the 3rd, the Rockets trailed 83-77 and hopes were still high in their favor to win this game.
In the 4th quarter, the Rockets charged out to a 12-5 lead to close within one point of the Clips after Howard connected on a quick-positioning hook with 7:20 left in the game.
But a barrage of threes by the Clippers made the Rockets deficit too great to overcome with all of the accumulated turnovers.
It started with Matt Barnes, maintained by Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers but culminated by Redick.
The next thing you know the Rockets were down by 18 points by the end of the game and team knew the writing was on the wall.
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They knew as to why the game slipped out of their hands too. Final Score: Rockets 117, Clippers 101
TURNOVERS! They had 23 on the night but the Clippers weren’t doing all that much better with 21 of those.
The Rockets shot 45.2 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from the three-point line and a abysmal 58.3 percent from the charity stripe.
Our stats paint an accurate description as to why they lost the game.
Any way, Howard led the Rockets with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in one of the best efforts that I’ve seen all season.
The Beard had 20 points and 12 assists in addition to Ariza having 17 points to add to the team’s marked effort.
Griffin led the Clips with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists — not bad for a big man!
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Barnes and Crawford had 20 and 21 points to add respectively. DeAndre Jordan also added 13 rebounds to their effort.
With the Rockets getting that Game 1 monkey off their back, they’ll be poised and ready to put a hell of a lot better push to play to play 48 minutes of solid basketball.
I have no doubt that they will.
The series continues as the Rockets take on the Clippers in Game 2 of the West Semis at Toyota Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CDT.
The game will be televised on TNT and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME).
Go Rockets!