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HOUSTON — The Clippers forgot to show up as they Houston Rockets dominate them 125-104 on Friday night. Nothing went right for Los Angeles in their rematch with the Rockets after losing to them on Wednesday night. This was the first game for the Clippers in the NBA Cup. The Clippers are now 6-7 and will look to get back to .500 at home on Sunday night against the Utah Jazz.
Here are some takeaways from the Clippers loss to the Rockets :
Rockets dominates from the jump
The Clippers came into this game look to avenge their loss on Wednesday night but were dominated from the tip-off.
The Clippers trailed by as much as 28 points on Friday night.
Los Angeles' defense struggled for the third straight game as they picked up a third straight loss.
Houston had a 19-10 advantage when it came to the 3-point line. For the second straight game, coach Tyronn Lue went to the bench in the fourth quarter but this time their late push didn't come close to making it a game.
The Rockets are now 2-0 against the Clippers after tonight’s win.
Powell struggles for second straight game
After scoring 20 points or more in ten consecutive games, Norman Powell has struggled the last two.
Powell scored 13 points in the loss to the Rockets on Wednesday and followed that up with only 8 points tonight.
Powell shot just 3 for 11 making only one 3-point field goal.
With such a hot start to the year, teams will look to take away the former Bruin and he will have to adjust to perform for this Clippers team.
The team will continue to struggle if Powell can’t find his shooting touch.
Only 12 assists for the Clippers
The Clippers has been a team who has thrived on sharing the ball this season but not tonight.
Los Angeles finished with just 12 assists on 34 made baskets.
The Clippers came in averaging 25.7 assists per game and finished way off the mark.
If this teams wants to win games guys have to make shots and the star players have to create easy buckets for their teammates.
Harden ties Allen in threes
James Harden had 21 points for the Clippers. He made three 3-pointers to move into a tie with Ray Allen (2,973) for second-most career 3-pointers behind Stephen Curry, who entered Friday with 3,779.
For a guy that is known for his moves off the dribble to see him reach and going to eventually pass Allen is a great feat.
Coming into the NBA, Harden was known as a playmaker and will be trailing only the greatest shooter ever after his next 3-pointer made.