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Gordon Drops 23 As Rockets Beat Clippers 101-96

Clippers

On the first night of a difficult back to back for the Los Angeles Clippers they took on the Western Conference leading Houston Rockets. While Houston won the last matchup between these two, the Clippers remain the only team in the NBA to have defeated Houston two times this season.

Right from the opening tip this one had a playoff atmosphere. It all started with Tobias Harris for the Clippers who had 12 of the team’s first 18 points in the game. Harris continued to roll all night on the offensive end as the forward managed to go an impressive 3-6 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 29 points and 8 rebounds by the time this one was all finished.

Los Angeles was able to get out to an early lead and even led going into the half, holding the Rockets to just 47 points in the first half of play. Along with the scoring of Harris, much of that lead could be accredited to the tough defense the Clippers young guards put on the Rockets veteran guards throughout the half. The likes of Austin Rivers, Jawun Evans and Sindarius Thornwell didn’t back down when the two All-Star Rockets challenged them. Thornwell even received a technical in the first for chirping at Chris Paul, a nice show of aggression from the usually timid Thornwell.

The Clippers held the Rockets to just 37% shooting from the field in the opening half but it seemed like a matter of time before their explosive offense got things rolling. In the third quarter, they did just that. Another former Clippers player Eric Gordon ignited their offense off the bench shooting an out of this world 7-9 from three point range and finishing the game with 23 points.

James Harden also managed to get his momentum rolling in the second half helping his team not just with his scoring but with his impressive vision and passing. Harden had himself yet another MVP caliber performance, putting up 24 points along with 7 assists and 5 rebounds.

A strong start for the Clippers defensively wouldn’t be enough to hold off the streaking Rockets as Houston would come away with a hard-fought 101-96 victory at the Toyota Center.

With the playoffs approaching Los Angeles would love to get one win out of this difficult back to back. Tomorrow they’ll have their chance against another playoff bound opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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