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HOUSTON — The Clippers couldn’t complete the fourth quarter comeback as they lose to the Rockets 111-103 on Wednesday night. Los Angeles has loss two-straight games and fall to .500 on the season. The Clippers are now 6-6 and will have a rematch with the Rockets on Friday night .
Here are some takeaways from the Clippers loss to the Rockets :
Dunn gets the start over Mann
The Clippers made a surprise late change to their starting lineup tonight.
Guard Kris Dunn replaced Terance Mann in the starting five giving Los Angeles another ball handler to play alongside James Harden.
It’s was a smooth switch for both Dunn and Mann tonight.
Dunn finished his first start with 11 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
Mann added 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steals.
Let’s see if coach Tyronn Lue sticks with this change going forward.
Powell scoring streak comes to an end
Norman Powell was on a ten game streak of scoring 20 or more points but it came to an end tonight.
Powell had a rare off night and only scored 13 points in tonight’s loss. The Clippers leading scorer this season had a tough night shooting just 5-18 from the field.
The athleticism and length of the Rockets made it difficult for Powell to really find a rhythm.
The Rockets were very physical and knew neutralizing Powell would help secure a win and that’s they were able to do tonight.
The former Bruin is hopeful to bounce back on Friday and start a brand new streak.
The bench mob nearly catches the Rockets
The Clippers trailed by as much as 19-points in the fourth quarter when coach Lue had enough of his starters.
So, coach Lue went to the bench and they nearly helped the Clippers pickup a huge come back win.
Guards Jordan Miller, Terance Mann and Bones Hyland were joined by forwards Kobe Brown and Amir Coffey to make a run.
The “bench mob” cut the lead to as low as four points until the Rockets closed out the game.
It was impressive to see the fight by Los Angeles’ backups and a positive for a team with 70+ games knowing that they can play 11-12 deep if needed.
Houston controls the board
Coach Tyronn is a coach that likes to play small and sometimes causes problems for his team especially when it comes to rebounding.
Tonight was one of those nights.
The Clippers were out-rebounded 59-42 by the Rockets. This led to a 19-6 second chance points advantage for Houston.
The Rockets collected 17 offensive rebounds helping them earn extra possessions that turned out to be the difference.
With only one true big on the roster this issue can occur for the Clippers. The team is very reliant on their guards to rebound and they just didn’t do it tonight.