Houston Rockets: Clippers Soar Past Rockets

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

24

6-11

0-0

0-0

2

4

6

0

1

0

0

3

-7

12

23

1-6

1-5

0-0

0

1

1

2

2

0

2

2

-3

3

37

7-16

0-4

3-4

2

4

6

4

0

0

5

2

-10

17

26

3-5

0-0

2-2

3

4

7

0

1

1

2

1

-16

8

34

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

29

4-11

1-5

1-1

1

5

6

1

1

0

1

5

-3

10

16

5-8

0-1

3-4

1

2

3

2

0

0

2

0

+9

13

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

-3

0

25

2-6

1-2

0-0

2

3

5

2

2

0

3

4

+2

5

25

4-7

1-4

5-5

2

3

5

0

1

0

2

2

-5

14

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP 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.

Los Angeles Clippers

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

32

6-10

0-0

8-11

4

7

11

5

4

1

2

4

+26

20

29

8-15

3-8

0-0

0

1

1

4

2

0

2

1

+20

19

21

3-5

0-0

0-2

1

3

4

0

2

1

1

2

+22

6

20

6-9

4-7

3-3

0

1

1

2

0

0

0

2

+8

19

31

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

25

1-4

0-1

0-0

0

7

7

0

0

0

3

3

-8

2

19

3-6

3-5

0-0

0

2

2

2

0

0

2

3

-10

9

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

-4

0

16

1-2

0-0

4-4

0

3

3

0

0

3

2

2

-16

6

17

1-5

0-1

0-0

0

2

2

3

0

1

0

0

-8

2

28

5-11

2-6

1-1

1

2

3

1

1

0

4

0

+2

13

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

TOTALS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS