NBA Recap: Kyle Lowry leads Houston Rockets to 96-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers
Kyle Lowry scored 20 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed six rebounds as the Houston Rockets defeated the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 96-83 on Wednesday night at Toyota Center.
Luis Scola also added 16 points and six rebounds for the Houston, who held the Clippers to a season-low 10 points in the fourth quarter. Aaron Brooks finished with 19 points while Chuck Hayes had 11 boards for the Rockets, who became the first opponent to pull down more rebounds (50-44) than the Clippers in eight games.
Randy Foye posted a season-high 20 points to lead the Clippers, who lost the 28th game of the season 2010-11. Rookie forward Blake Griffin poured in a modest stat line of 14 points and 11 rebounds, recording his 37th double-double of the season in the defeat.
Baron Davis finished with 14 points while DeAndre Jordan grabbed 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who have now lost four consecutive road games. Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe dished out six assists and recorded three steals but missed five of seven field-goal attempts in 22-plus minutes on the court.
Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks hit back-to-back jumpers to start the first quarter and then carried the momentum to take a 27-22 lead into the second.
The Clippers came back into the game in the second quarter as their reserves rallied from seven points down to snatch a 44-42 lead with five minutes remaining in the half. However, Hayes' layup with 8 seconds remaining gave Houston a 55-52 lead going into the locker room.
Houston went cold and shot only 4-for-19 from the field in the third. However, they trailed only by 73-70, because the Clippers gave away six turnovers during the same stretch.
Trailing by three points, the Rockets woke up and ripped off a 12-0 run to begin the final stanza and successfully turned a 73-70 deficit into an 82-73 lead with less than six minutes remaining. Houston's defense also shored up its gaps and held the Clippers to a season-low 10 points in the fourth to claim a home victory.
The Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said after the game, “We just couldn't put the ball in the basket," "We didn't shoot well enough to put some pressure on them."
Do you know?
The Rockets are now 24-5 against the Clippers since 2003.
Houston have won 12 of its last 14 meetings with the Clippers.
The Clippers are now to 0-9 this season, when they have scored less than 90 points.
The Clippers were outrebounded (50-44) for the first time in eight games.
Rockets guard Aaron Brooks has now connected on 31 consecutive free-throw attempts.
Blake Griffin reached his 37th double-double this season.
Standing 6-foot-10, Griffin made his first basket on his 101st dunk of the season.
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