What happened??? Well, I’ll tell you what happened. One team looked like they had been here before and the other team looked like it was their first rodeo. On this occasion, the first was the visiting Los Angeles Clippers and the second was the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets took the lead in the first half, reaching a 20-point lead before succumbing to a bizarre 122-116 defeat. The moments leading up to the inevitable loss were particularly difficult because something told you the Clippers wouldn’t sit in a daze for an entire game.
Despite the exciting events of the first half, characterized by flashes of youthful brilliance and unusually accurate three-point shooting, the opposite could be said of the second half. At first, it looked like Houston was going to be able to hold off the Clippers, responding to Los Angeles’ runs with counters to keep the visitors at bay. However, that feeling changed once the opposing stars began to find their rhythm, allowing the comeback.
Alperen Sengun continued its total domination over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday with another spectacular match. While the Clippers may have missed the presence of Russell Westbrook (out due to hand surgery), Alpy did his best to honor Mr. Triple-Double with 23 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists .
Although the Rockets lost that game, I don’t believe his efforts will be in vain as the ESPN broadcast hopefully exposed one of the game’s brightest stars to a national audience.
Jabari Smith Jr. wasn’t too bad in this one either as he had 19 points on his 4-of-6 three-point shooting night. More could have been asked of the Rockets backcourt as Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet combined for 30 points (15 each). It would have been nice for either of them to take over in the fourth quarter as the lead crumbled to dust.
Dillon Brooks added 11 points and Cam Whitmore contributed 17 points coming off the bench, but in the end, no one else provided Sengun with the pressure relief valve he needed to combat the Clippers’ onslaught in the fourth quarter.
Even though Kawhi Leonard led the way to victory for LA with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, it felt like this game swung the other way once Paul George started clicking. His 21 points matched James Harden’s 21 in Jimbo’s first game in Houston as a Clipper.
It’s also worth noting that there was a Hack-a-Shaq on Mason Plumlee with the Rockets up by one late in the fourth quarter. Technically it worked because he missed the free throws, but Houston’s inability to capitalize on the other end was when it really looked like they were going to blow this game.
This final result proved disappointing after two straight wins and an outside chance to gain ground in the play-in standings. Houston isn’t done in technical terms, but this certainly feels like one of those blows that young teams usually suffer on the road to salvation.
