Houston Rockets: Clippers Soar Past Rockets
By Michael Ma
February 13, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Houston Rockets power forward Marcus Morris (2) moves in to score a basket against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Houston Rockets will go into the All-Star break with a 106-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, as the Clippers took control early in the first quarter, and led throughout the whole game.
Caron Butler scored 17 of his 19 points in the first quarter while the Clippers shot a remarkable 77 percent from the field in the opening period, and scored 46 points. Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Chauncey Billups had 19 points, Jamal Crawford scored 13 points, and Chris Paul added 10 points and 11 assists.
The Rockets were without all-star James Harden, as he was suffering from a sprained ankle that happened Tuesday night at Golden State, in a play where he stepped on David Lee’s left foot. Houston was led by Chandler Parsons, who scored 17 points, while Jeremy Lin added 14 points and 7 assists. The Rockets have now lost five straight games against the Clippers, and will head home for the all-star break losing three out of their last five.
“They came out on fire and we didn’t do a good job of making it difficult for them,” Lin said. “Once they got in a rhythm, it just kind of snowballed at least in the first quarter.”
While the Rockets did shoot 50 percent in the first period, they still trailed by 18 points at the end of the quarter.
“It all starts from the defensive end,” Parsons said. “It was a miserable performance. We’re better than that. We’re in a good spot right now, but we’ve got to win more games and we have to compete better with the elite teams.”
Perhaps the only bright spot for the Rockets Wednesday night was the contributions from seldom-used guard James Anderson, and forward Donatas Motiejunas. Anderson entered the game in the first quarter, playing 25 minutes and scoring 14 points, Motiejunas played 16 minutes and added 13 points. It was the first time this season that Motiejunas played meaningful minutes, and he contributed in an impressive fashion.
Box Score:
Houston Rockets
STARTERS
MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
+/-
PTS
Patrick Patterson24
6-11
0-0
0-0
2
4
6
0
1
0
0
3
-7
12
Carlos Delfino23
1-6
1-5
0-0
0
1
1
2
2
0
2
2
-3
3
Chandler Parsons37
7-16
0-4
3-4
2
4
6
4
0
0
5
2
-10
17
Omer Asik26
3-5
0-0
2-2
3
4
7
0
1
1
2
1
-16
8
Jeremy Lin34
4-12
1-3
5-6
0
2
2
7
2
1
4
4
-14
14
BENCH
MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
+/-
PTS
Marcus Morris29
4-11
1-5
1-1
1
5
6
1
1
0
1
5
-3
10
Donatas Motiejunas16
5-8
0-1
3-4
1
2
3
2
0
0
2
0
+9
13
Cole Aldrich1
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-3
0
Patrick Beverley25
2-6
1-2
0-0
2
3
5
2
2
0
3
4
+2
5
James Anderson25
4-7
1-4
5-5
2
3
5
0
1
0
2
2
-5
14
Toney DouglasDNP COACH’S DECISION
James HardenDNP COACH’S DECISION
TOTALS
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
Fast break points: 21Points in the paint: 54Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers): 21 (21)
+/- denotes team’s net points while the player is on the court.
STARTERS
MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
+/-
PTS
Blake Griffin32
6-10
0-0
8-11
4
7
11
5
4
1
2
4
+26
20
Caron Butler29
8-15
3-8
0-0
0
1
1
4
2
0
2
1
+20
19
DeAndre Jordan21
3-5
0-0
0-2
1
3
4
0
2
1
1
2
+22
6
Chauncey Billups20
6-9
4-7
3-3
0
1
1
2
0
0
0
2
+8
19
Chris Paul31
3-8
1-4
3-5
0
3
3
11
3
0
1
2
+18
10
BENCH
MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
+/-
PTS
Lamar Odom25
1-4
0-1
0-0
0
7
7
0
0
0
3
3
-8
2
Matt Barnes19
3-6
3-5
0-0
0
2
2
2
0
0
2
3
-10
9
Ronny Turiaf1
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
-4
0
Ryan Hollins16
1-2
0-0
4-4
0
3
3
0
0
3
2
2
-16
6
Eric Bledsoe17
1-5
0-1
0-0
0
2
2
3
0
1
0
0
-8
2
Jamal Crawford28
5-11
2-6
1-1
1
2
3
1
1
0
4
0
+2
13
Grant HillDNP COACH’S DECISION
Willie GreenDNP COACH’S DECISION
TOTALS
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS