Clippers at Rockets
Houston's James Harden put up 46 points in a victory over Los Angeles
earlier this season and the standout guard strives to produce another
strong performance when the Rockets host the Clippers on Saturday.
Harden's big effort helped Houston notch a 109-105 victory Nov. 7
over the team it defeated in seven games last postseason to reach the
Western Conference finals.
The Rockets have struggled during the first third of the season and are trying to get back to the .500 mark. The squad initially received a boost by last month's firing of coach Kevin McHale but the same type of inconsistent efforts have returned under interim leader J.B. Bickerstaff. Los Angeles has won nine of its last 12 games but one of the defeats occurred Friday when it was outplayed in the fourth quarter and fell 115-107 to the San Antonio Spurs. "We've had trouble closing games against good teams. There's no question," shooting guard J.J. Redick said afterward. "We've closed against bad teams. I don't know the answer to it."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), ROOT (Houston)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (16-11): Los Angeles has the fourth-best record in the Western Conference and both Redick and power forward Blake Griffin said the club is not in the same class as first-place Golden State (26-1) or the second-place Spurs (23-5). "Defense matters to them the most on both ends," Griffin told reporters. "We're not better than those teams. We're not as good as those teams. We can be but we've got some work to do." Griffin scored 25 points against San Antonio and point guard Chris Paul also excelled with 27 points and 10 assists.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (13-14): Point guard Ty Lawson is experiencing a highly disappointing season and will miss the next two games after being suspended by the NBA for driving while impaired. He pled guilty in November to a DUI charge stemming from an incident after leaving a party in Denver in January. Lawson lost his starting job due to poor play and is averaging just 5.9 points and 4.2 assists, well below his career marks of 13.7 and 6.5, respectively.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets have won the past three regular-season meetings after losing the previous six.
2. Los Angeles backup SG Jamal Crawford has just two points — both on free throws — over the last two contests.
3. Houston PG Patrick Beverley is averaging 13.7 points and made seven 3-pointers during the past three games.