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1st Quarter ends with the Los Angeles Clippers leading 33-24.
· Blake Griffin picked up his second foul with 5:36 left
· Spencer Hawes subsequently sighted. Good too!! 1st quarter line of: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
· JJ Redick came to play: 11 points (and 1 assist), 3-3 on threes
· Good to have you back CP3: 4 points, 5 assists; Clippers overall have 10 assists and only 1 turnover
· James Harden smacked Austin Rivers in the back of the head and then ran by him with the ball. Referees didn’t call anything.
· Harden shot zero free throws. Houston shot 1 single free throw all quarter.
2nd Quarter ends with the Los Angeles Clippers leading 64-57.
· The Clippers’ execution fell off a lot. Botched fast breaks cost the Clippers the ability to just run Houston off the court. Overall this quarter the Clippers have 6 assists, but 6 turnovers.
· Jason Terry is getting 3’s and making them now. Houston ends the half 6-15 (40%) from 3.
· Is the hack working? Dwight seems like he’s 1-2 every turn (4-9 overall)
· Jamal Crawford’s 1st half: 4-8 from the field. Part of it is that he’s only shot 3 three-point shots (1-3) and not as many of his patented long jumpers. Instead he penetrated for some layups.
· James Harden has zero free throws so far.
· Houston ends the first half with THIRTEEN offensive rebounds. Overall Houston leads rebounding 27-25. The Clippers need to stop giving up second chance baskets.
· No foul trouble. Only Spencer Hawes has 4 fouls, but those were intentionally acquired and he isn’t playing enough minutes to make that number matter. No one else with more than 2 fouls.
· Austin Rivers’ SOLID first half: 7 points (3-4 shooting), 3 rebounds, 2 assists (1 turnover), and 1 block.
First Half Overview:
The Clippers were clearly playing better, but only led by 7. The lack of clean execution cost the Clippers a blowout-margin lead. It should have been a comfy double digit lead. No excuse to not lead by more when you essentially shut down James Harden offensively (10 points, 7 assists, 2 turnovers).
3rd Quarter ends with the Los Angeles Clippers leading 99-76
· James Harden immediately starts the quarter by shoving himself into Chris Paul to get free throws
· The crowd was relatively silent for a good portion of the game until the end of the quarter
· Chris Paul is saving the Clippers in the midst of terrible offensive possessions/turnovers. Clutch 3’s.
· Blake Griffin is having a terrible night. 7 turnovers (with only 3 assists). Careless handling and trying to do too much. He seems just completely exhausted. This is specifically what Spencer Hawes is for: get Blake his rest.
· The Clippers looked exhausted as the quarter was coming to a close. Then Austin Rivers took over. Clippers end on an 18-0 run. Wow. Austin Rivers’ 3rd Quarter alone was: 6-8 shooting for 15 points (22 overall now). This is important: this should mean CP3 gets rest.
4th Quarter Ends with the Los Angeles Clippers 124-99
· Austin Rivers gets chants of his name and a standing ovation. Well earned.
· Doc Rivers puts Chris Paul back into the game…up 27 points. Someone needs to ask Doc why. There’s a reason why CP3 has had a relatively light minutes load tonight. Dude needs all the rest he can get.
· Jason Terry needs to be suspended. He ran into Blake Griffin’s back during a dead ball and essentially shoved him. Replays didn’t indicate any provocation from Blake. Also, kudos to Matt Barnes for not escalating the situation. He played peacekeeper and got between an infuriated Blake Griffin and a pouty Jason Terry. Jet was subsequently ejected.
· JJ Redick has been amazing tonight: 11-14 from the field (5-6 from 3) for 31 points. Austin Rivers and JJ Redick won this game. Combined: 21-27 (8-12 from 3) for 56 points, with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Game Overview: The Clippers got amazing performances from Rivers and Redick to cancel out limited minutes of CP3 and an off night from Griffin. Griffin was okay from the field (10-20), and a solid rebounder (14), but had 7 turnovers. He seemed constantly burned out from making sure the defense was solid.