What we learned from the LA Clippers’ loss to Houston
The LA Clippers got off to another slow start but couldn’t recover, falling to 7-4 with a 102-93 loss to the Houston Rockets.
The LA Clippers have gotten off to a few slow starts so far this season. More often than not, they’re trampled in the first quarter as they fail to get shots to fall. It’s been a strange trend to monitor, but for the most part, it hasn’t mattered all that much. More often than not, the Clippers have been able to come out on top in such games.
That rule didn’t apply against the Houston Rockets.
LA stumbled out of the gate, scoring just 15 points to Houston’s 31. The Clippers made just six field goals through the first 12 minutes, two of which came from three-point range. The Rockets, on the other hand, were as efficient as ever and saw their lead balloon to 17 by the end of the first quarter.
The Clippers began to push back in the second, allowing just 18 points while scoring 22 of their own. Kawhi Leonard and Lou Williams were carrying a majority of the load to that point, combining for 26 of LA’s 37 total points at the break.
It was an improvement, at least, over their performance in the first quarter. The game felt within reach as well, given that the Clippers had trimmed Houston’s lead down to just five late in the first half.
That hopeful feeling carried into the third quarter, as the Clippers kept things close throughout. They never captured the lead in that frame, but the Rockets never led by more than 10 and were once leading by a mere three points.
The fourth quarter is where the Clippers have been most dominant this season, and going into it, the expectation was that LA would be able to squeak this one out.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the case.
Despite taking a lead roughly halfway through the final frame, the Clippers were unable to close things out in Houston. The Rockets hit their shots, LA took questionable ones early in the shot clock, and before long, the frustration had hit its peak.
Patrick Beverley would foul out in the fourth, and not long after, he would receive a technical foul for staring down a referee. On top of that, Doc Rivers was ejected, right after his son, Austin Rivers, had encouraged the officials to issue him his own technical.
It was a night that the Clippers won’t want to remember, but some learning moments came out of this loss. We’ll get into those on the following slides.