A pair of teams that have just tested their form against the top squad in the NBA will meet Thursday when the Los Angeles Clippers play host to the Houston Rockets.
The Clippers are coming off a 103-96 road defeat to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, while the Rockets gamely battled the Suns on Wednesday in an eventual 124-121 defeat. Houston, the worst team in the Western Conference, had a slim lead with 1:56 to play before the Suns pulled ahead.
Thursday’s game will be the final contest before the All-Star break for both the Clippers and Rockets. They will meet up again after the break for a pair of games Feb. 27 and March 1 at Houston.
Injury woes have limited the Clippers to a 4-6 record going back Jan. 28, although they do have an impressive 119-104 victory over the Golden State Warriors in that stretch on Monday.
The Clippers have been without Kawhi Leonard (knee) all season and without Paul George (elbow) since December. The most recent injury was to new arrival Norman Powell, who is out indefinitely with a broken bone in his left foot.
Powell and Robert Covington were picked up before the trade deadline to give the Clippers more firepower down the stretch, but it remains unclear when Powell will return.
The Clippers still gave the Suns a game Tuesday as Marcus Morris Sr. scored 23 points and Nicolas Batum added 18. The Clippers forced 16 Suns turnovers, but Phoenix shot 48.9 percent from the field to 41.2 percent for Los Angeles.
“It has definitely made me a better coach this year, just trying to scratch and claw and win a game every single night,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said. “Usually, you are in the playoffs and you try to win one game (at a time). It’s like that every single night.”
While there has been plenty of scratching and clawing for Houston, the Rockets have an abysmal 15-42 record and each of its five consecutive defeats before Wednesday were by double digits.
Against the Suns, though, the Rockets appeared inspired. They outrebounded Phoenix 49-42 and took 97 shots from the field to 86 for the Suns. And that was without Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr., who were late scratches due to a stomach bug.
Dennis Schroder scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half of his second game and first start with the Rockets. He added nine assists and six rebounds but had six turnovers.
Jae’Sean Tate scored 22 for the Rockets with 10 rebounds, while Eric Gordon had 10 of his 20 in the fourth quarter. Houston’s Alperen Sengun tied his career high with 19 points and set a career high with 14 rebounds in his fifth career start.
“It’s disappointing that we lost, but shoot, that’s the best team in the NBA, and we were right there,” Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said. “We had a shot to tie the game at the end, so I’m proud of the guys and the way that they fought, but I’m also proud of the way they prepared to play.”
–Field Level Media