After the Los Angeles Clippers loss on Saturday night to Sacramento, head coach Doc Rivers said that it’s a “make or miss” league and that his team missed against Sacramento.
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J.J. Redick scored a career-high 40 points, and the Clippers made a franchise record 22 three-pointers as they held off the Houston Rockets 140-132 in overtime on Monday night at Staples Center.
Rivers said there’s no obvious adjustments he can make against Howard if Jordan joins Griffin in street clothes.
Chris Paul had 28 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and six steals.
Redick set a franchise single-season record for 3-pointers in 2014-15 with 200. “We’ve gotta continue to do a better job of attacking and putting teams on their heels”.
The Clippers are looking to contend for one of the top-three positions in the Western Conference as they’re now 2.5 games behind the third-place Oklahoma City Thunder.
Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza, left, shoots against Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 18, 2016.
Houston Rockets’ star man was Dwight Howard, who added to already impressive 36 points with a career-high 26 rebounds. They also dropped the initial two meetings between the clubs this season before topping the Rockets on Monday.
Having trailed for most of the game, the Rockets found their A-game in the final quarter, hitting a game-high 42 points to draw the sides level late on.
Clippers: Paul got a technical foul with 3:10 left in the second quarter after he was called for an offensive foul while attempting a 3-pointer that missed. Harden was reliable from the free throw line to score seven for the quarter, but his side were still down 14 going into the fourth, the scores sitting at 80-94.
Back-to-back threes by Crawford and Redick boosted Los Angeles to a 128-122 cushion with 3:40 left in overtime, and the Rockets never recovered.
After Redick converted two free throws with 16.4 seconds left in regulation for a 118-114 lead, Marcus Thornton made a 3-pointer at the other end with 14.4 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game. The Rockets took 52 free throws overall, 19 more than the Clippers. “It was our doing, but the way we played the last five minutes of the game, we were running the clock out on offense, we were not getting back on defense, we did not match up on defense, we allowed them to get back in the game”. Corey Maggette had 367.
Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson did not play in the game as Smith was relegated back to the bench due to Jordan’s return to the court. Beverley went scoreless in 16 minutes, leaving the contest in the third quarter after apparently re-injuring the ankle.
“We are [upset]”, said guard Marcus Thornton, who tied the game with a deadly 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds to play in regulation, which eventually sent the game to overtime. Rivers also said King should be celebrated as an American icon instead of just as a black civil rights leader. I’m just proud of our guys and the way they fought back.
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The Rockets return home to Houston for a three-game home stand that kicks off against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at 5:00 PM PST.
