With 14 minutes left, Game 6 felt just like the two in Los Angeles before it. The Rockets were close at the half, trailing by only two, but they were blitzed yet again in the third quarter, with the Clippers pushing the 64-62 halftime edge to 89-70. In the prior two cases, the Rockets folded and lost by 25+ points. This time? They were able to deliver a stunning 49-18 counter-punch to the Clippers to close the game and tie the series at 3-3, sending it back to Houston for a
The Los Angeles Clippers were up by 19 points in the third quarter against the Houston Rockets in Game 6 on Thursday, and the game (as well as the series) felt as though it was just about over when Blake Griffin made this circus spinning layup. Then something unthinkable happened: with James Harden sitting on the bench, the Rockets clawed their way back into the game in the fourth quarter and outscored the Clippers 49-18 to come out with a 119-107
Please, people, don’t panic! The strategy of fouling bad foul shooters, incessantly creating a parade to the free throw line, will die a quiet death. I’m not talking about a team that is behind by 6 with a minute to go trying to get the ball back. I’m talking about the “Hack-a-Shaq” – or Dwight, or DeAndre – strategy of putting a 40 percent shooter on the line 40 times a game. Yes, it is bad television. It kills the flow of
The Houston Rockets haven’t lost three games in a row all season long. But if they’re going to keep that streak alive in Tuesday’s Game 5 — and with it, their season — they’re going to have to overcome a tidal wave of momentum in favor of the Clippers. [Read more…]
For Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard, even a simple smile or laugh can be enough to fuel his legion of critics. We found that out before Wednesday’s Game 2, when Los Angeles Times reporter Ben Bolch tweeted this while watching Howard during his team’s shootaround. “Dwight Howard was laughing while teammates shot free throws during shootaround, as if this was a midweek game in January,” Bolch wrote. “It doesn’t matter if Howard played well in a Game 1 LOSS,” Bolch continued. “His team
The Houston Rockets had every opportunity to run the Los Angeles Clippers out of the gym on Monday in Game 1 of the conference semifinals. The Clippers were just two days removed from the most emotional win of their season in Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs and played without Chris Paul, who sat out the contest due to a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, the Rockets had five days of rest after taking care of the Dallas Mavericks in just five
Kevin Love’s left labrum has torn away from the bone and needs at least 4-to-6 weeks to heal, reports Bleacher Report‘s Howard Beck. As a result, there’s “virtually zero chance” that Love plays again this postseason, even if the Cavaliers make the Finals. Moreover, if the labrum tear doesn’t heal on its own, offseason surgery is a possibility as well, according to Beck’s sources. “I want to make it clear that’s highly unlikely,” Cavs general manager David Griffin said, in comments transcribed
In Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series between the Clippers and defending champion Spurs, San Antonio was overwhelmed by the energy of the home team. Los Angeles, even when making mistakes in defensive rotations, did so with so much speed and commitment that it often didn’t matter. The Clippers, with an assortment power dunks from Blake Griffin and power spikes from DeAndre Jordan, had the capacity crowd at Staples Center in a frenzy all night. The Spurs didn’t have an