Rockets Collapse Late Again in 121-100 Loss to Clippers
Rotting on the Vine. Necessary Conversion. Staying Put.
Another road game, and the same old story for theses Rockets. Houston collapsed in the fourth quarter, as they fell to the Clippers, 121-100, on Sunday afternoon. The Rockets held a narrow lead at halftime, and trailed by only one point entering the final quarter, but Los Angeles dominated Houston in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rockets 30-10 in the period. The loss is Houston’s 10th straight, and they’ve now lost 15 of their last 16 games overall. The Rockets are rotting on the vine as struggle to get past the ten-win mark as we’re firmly into the second half of the season.
Terrance Mann led the way for the Clips with a career-high 31 points. Kawhi Leonard added 30 points in his first matchup with Houston this season. Eric Gordon had a season-high 24 points to lead the Rockets, and KJ Martin had another solid performance, adding 22 points as he garnered another start with all of Houston’s missing players. The Rockets gave a valiant effort through three quarters, but as we witnessed in Sacremento, Houston just seems to run out of gas in the second half. The squad plays so hard, as if they exert all their energy in the first two and a half quarters. An NBA game is a marathon, not a sprint, and the Rockets need to start saving some of their energy for later in the contest.
Alperen Sengun had another solid game, as he barely eclipsed the 30-mintute mark despite the undermanned lineup for Houston. I don’t know why, but Stephen Silas has trouble giving Sengun the minutes he deserves. Silas took Sengun out of the game when it was tied 80-80. When Sengun returned to the floor 8 minutes later, the Rockets found themselves staring at a 9-point deficit. If Silas can’t convert to Sengun-ism soon, he has no chance of keeping his seat (which continues to heat) as Houston’s Head Coach. And Daishen Nix, who drew the start at point guard, had a torridly inefficient line in 36 minutes. Nix scored only 1 point, while snagging 1 rebound and 2 assists. He had 4 turnovers and 3 fouls, and he missed both of his shots (two three-pointers). If Nix is going to see more action than Sengun, he needs to produce well above the numbers he put up on Sunday afternoon. The Rockets sorely missed the liked of Jae’Sean Tate, Jalen Green, and Kevin Porter Jr. in the fourth quarter when the game got out of hands.
Up next for Houston, the squad stays put in Los Angeles. The Rockets take on the Lakers in the same building on Monday night. It’s the first matchup between Houston and LeBron’s Lakers this season. Hopefully the Rockets get reinforcements back as they get set to battle King James on Monday night.