Brooks and Head lead Houston over hurting Clippers
Monday, April 7th, 2008
by John
After seeing earlier in the day the Phoenix Suns blow a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Mavericks and lose, that had to give Houston even more reason to take care of business in LA Sunday night.
A win against the Clippers, and Houston could move one full game ahead of Phoenix for the 5th playoff spot in the West, and one game behind San Antonio and the Lakers for second or third place with 5 games to play.
So the Rockets came into Staples Center and put together one of their most complete games since the 22-game winning streak, beating the Clips 105-79. It’s exactly what they need to get in a playoff mindset.
It didn’t hurt that the Clippers have been injury-riddled the entire season, with more games missed by players than any other team this season. With Chris Kaman and Shaun Livingston out for the season, Elton Brand playing just his third game of the season after missing most of it because of Achilles surgery, and their leading scorer (22.5 points) Corey Maggette having to leave the game early for good with a strained hamstring, they really had no chance.
Meanwhile, Houston’s offense started off hot as the Rockets made 11 of its first 19 shots to take a 30-20 lead. That 10-point lead was an important milestone since the Clippers are only 7-47 this season when they fall behind by double-digits.
After that point, the Rockets were never really threatened as they built a 20-point lead by halftime, 62-42. Hitting 6-of-11 three-pointers was a key to building that lead compared to LA’s 1-of-3 (that one three-pointer is all they would make for the entire game).
The Clips would cut it to 13 points in the third quarter as Houston’s offense stagnated with only 18 points in the quarter. But Houston’s reserves did an admirable job in the fourth, surging the lead back to 20+ points to show the Rockets’ offense is getting tuned for the stretch run.
Houston’s offense was firing on all cylinders as 6 players scored in double-figures, led by backup point guard rookie Aaron Brooks. On the bench for so long after the acquisition of Bobby Jackson, Brooks has shown the past couple of games he hasn’t missed a beat.
AB used his speed and ability to get into the lane (or to the hole) in a flash, hitting 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 three-pointers to score a game-high 18 points. He also had 4 assists and zero turnovers. Houston’s point guard future is bright.
After seeing earlier in the day the Phoenix Suns blow a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Mavericks and lose, that had to give Houston even more reason to take care of business in LA Sunday night.
A win against the Clippers, and Houston could move one full game ahead of Phoenix for the 5th playoff spot in the West, and one game behind San Antonio and the Lakers for second or third place with 5 games to play.
So the Rockets came into Staples Center and put together one of their most complete games since the 22-game winning streak, beating the Clips 105-79. It’s exactly what they need to get in a playoff mindset.
It didn’t hurt that the Clippers have been injury-riddled the entire season, with more games missed by players than any other team this season. With Chris Kaman and Shaun Livingston out for the season, Elton Brand playing just his third game of the season after missing most of it because of Achilles surgery, and their leading scorer (22.5 points) Corey Maggette having to leave the game early for good with a strained hamstring, they really had no chance.
Meanwhile, Houston’s offense started off hot as the Rockets made 11 of its first 19 shots to take a 30-20 lead. That 10-point lead was an important milestone since the Clippers are only 7-47 this season when they fall behind by double-digits.
After that point, the Rockets were never really threatened as they built a 20-point lead by halftime, 62-42. Hitting 6-of-11 three-pointers was a key to building that lead compared to LA’s 1-of-3 (that one three-pointer is all they would make for the entire game).
The Clips would cut it to 13 points in the third quarter as Houston’s offense stagnated with only 18 points in the quarter. But Houston’s reserves did an admirable job in the fourth, surging the lead back to 20+ points to show the Rockets’ offense is getting tuned for the stretch run.
Houston’s offense was firing on all cylinders as 6 players scored in double-figures, led by backup point guard rookie Aaron Brooks. On the bench for so long after the acquisition of Bobby Jackson, Brooks has shown the past couple of games he hasn’t missed a beat.
AB used his speed and ability to get into the lane (or to the hole) in a flash, hitting 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 three-pointers to score a game-high 18 points. He also had 4 assists and zero turnovers. Houston’s point guard future is bright.
