The Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 115 to 109 to tie their series at 1-1.
It was a strong second half performance which lifted the Rockets to the win where they outscored the Clippers by 15 points in the half.
They were led by James Harden who scored 32 points and dished out 7 assists and Dwight Howard’s 24 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Trevor Ariza was huge for the Rockets in the second half, quelling a rampaging Blake Griffin and hitting key buckets down the stretch.
Griffin scored 26 points in the first half, pushing the Clippers an 11 point advantage at the main break. However, he looked tired in the second half and couldn’t shake the pesky Ariza and could only manage another 8 points in the second half.
The game saw three different versions of the Hack-A strategy, with Josh Smith, Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan all subject to deliberate fouling to make them shoot foul shots.
As a result the game had a whopping 96 free-throws attempted, 64 of them by the Rockets which was the most for a team in the playoffs since 1993!
The series will now move back to Los Angeles for the next two games, with Chris Paul still under an injury cloud with his dodgy hamstring.
All the semi-conference playoff series are now tied at 1-1, so some exciting times ahead in the NBA Playoffs.
The Houston Rockets play a vital home game in Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference semi-finals series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday morning. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 11:30am (AEST).
The Rockets lost their home court advantage after losing 117-101 in their opening game against a Clippers team missing star point guard Chris Paul. Losing again today will make it all but impossible for them to win this series.
Paul will again be missing today’s game, so they must capitalize on his absence before it gets tougher when they play on the road.
Blake Griffin has blossomed in these players, mixing a complete skill-set with his otherworldly athleticism to stuff the box score and will be gunning for his third triple double in a row.
James Harden will need to lift tonight and put the Rockets on his back like he did for most of the regular season.
Key to his performance will be getting to the foul line, he was kept to only 6 attempts in game 1, it is such an important aspect to his game to ensure the scoreboard ticking over and the Clippers front court in foul trouble.
While the stars dominate the headlines it is so often the unheralded players who tip the games at this point of the playoffs. The production of Matt Barnes and Austin Rivers and Glenn ‘Big Baby’ for the Clippers vs Corey Brewer, Terrence Jones and Pablo Prigioni will have a big say in the outcome today.
Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 11:30am (AEST). If you are following the action live, be sure to join in the banter and share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
ROCKETS WIN Series tied at 1-1 ROCKETS - 115 CLIPPERS - 109
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 1' - Great play out of the timeout by the Clippers sees Jordan dunking home the inbound pass. They foul Harden immediately who knocks down both. Harden is 14-14 from the line for 31 points. ROCKETS - 115 CLIPPERS - 109
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 1' - The ball is dumped into Howard who is immediately fouled by Griffin. Unbelievably Howard knocks down both FT's, that should be game ROCKETS - 113 CLIPPERS - 107
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 1' - Austin Rivers with the rebound, dribbles the ball up the court, trips over and loses the ball out of bounce ROCKETS - 111 CLIPPERS - 107
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 1' - Crawford fouled driving to the basket and he makes both FT's. ROCKETS - 111 CLIPPERS - 107
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 1' - Blake back on and makes the quick baby-hook. Clippers Hack-A-Howard who misses both, the NBA have to do something about this! Barnes and Harden trade buckets and a timeout is called ROCKETS - 111 CLIPPERS - 105
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 2' - Doc has taken Griffin out of the game now and puts Jordan back in. Houston get some payback for Hack-A-Smith and Hack-A-Howard with their own Hack-A-Jordan, who misses both FT's this time. ROCKETS - 109 CLIPPERS - 101
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 4' - Jump ball and Griffin tips the ball straight to Terrence Jones who waltzes in for the dunk. After the Clippers miss Harden drives and draws another foul, as he shoots FT number 12 and 13 the chants of M-V-P can be heard around stadium. Griffin and the Clippers both look to have lost their mojo. ROCKETS - 107 CLIPPERS - 97
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 5' - Rockets get Howard off the floor and match the Clippers small-ball lineup with Jones-Ariza-Brewer-Harden-Prigioni ROCKETS - 103 CLIPPERS - 96
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 6' - Austin Rivers hits the 3 point then the Clippers employ Hack-A-Howard. Clippers playing small-ball with Griffin-Crawford-Barnes-Rivers-Redick ROCKETS - 101 CLIPPERS - 96
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 7' - Ariza coming up big in this quarter with 7 of his 15 points coming in this period. Harden again with the 3 and the Rockets are scorching now. Harden has 24 points ROCKETS - 100 CLIPPERS - 91
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 9' - Harden hits the triple and timeout is called. Clippers in danger now. ROCKETS - 93 CLIPPERS - 88
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 10' - A pair of Harden FT's is followed by an Ariza 3 for the lead. The crowd has come to life now. ROCKETS - 90 CLIPPERS - 88
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 11' - Scores tied when Ariza tips in the put-back from the Terry miss. Crawford answers with a big 3 pointer. ROCKETS - 85 CLIPPERS - 88
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q4 11' - Bit of an anticlimactic start with both of the shot-clocks breaking. They cant fix the ones on the backboards, so they will play with one on the floor and with the PA guy to shouting out when there is 10 secs left. ROCKETS - 83 CLIPPERS - 85
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Final quarter underway - 2 points in it!
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
The Rockets were able to fight back in the third despite their poor free-throw shooting. They won the quarter 27-20, helpful to their cause was the cooling-off of Blake Griffin who only scores 6 points during the period. It's a foul heavy contest with Howard, Harden and Jordan all on 4 fouls which could prove pivotal in the last.
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
End of the 3RD Quarter ROCKETS - 83 CLIPPERS - 85
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q3 2' - Harden looking more Harden-like since coming back on, driving and leaping into anyone near him. He knocks in 4 FT's in a row and is 9-9 tonight, shows you how bad the rest of his team are shooting FT's. ROCKETS - 82 CLIPPERS - 85
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Q3 2' - Back to Hack-A-Smith and he misses both, the Rockets are 24-40 with Smith shooting 2-6 on FT's. Harden comes back on the court. ROCKETS - 80 CLIPPERS - 85