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Houston Rockets Escape Game 2 With Win, But In Trouble Vs. Clippers

By Sam Richmond

May 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) brings the ball up the court during the first quarter in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) brings the ball up the court during the first quarter in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Houston Rockets desperately needed a win on Wednesday night and they got exactly that. Kevin McHale‘s squad toppled the Los Angeles Clippers 115-109, evening the two teams’ second-round series at one game apiece.

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However, at this point in the series, it’s hard to come to any other conclusion than the Rockets are in big trouble.

The Clippers were without all-star Chris Paul and started Austin Rivers in his place for two games. Houston entered this series having not played a game since April 28; Los Angeles entered it having just finished off the San Antonio Spurs in a grueling Game 7 two days prior.

These two games were at the Toyota Center, a building in which the Rockets won 30 games this season. Again, the Clippers started Austin Rivers.

But none of that mattered, as the Clippers were every bit the Rockets equal in the two games. (Actually, they were slightly better, outscoring Houston 226-216.)

Furthermore, Los Angeles was the much better team in Game 1. After a strong performance from Houston in the first quarter, the Clippers outscored the Rockets by 22 points the rest of the way. They completely picked apart Houston’s normally stingy defense, as they shot 48.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from behind the arc.

On they other end, they did a great job of slowing down James Harden, forcing Houston’s other players to attempt to beat them, a task that they could not do.

The Rockets again got off to a quick start in Game 2, as they led 35-24 after the game’s first 12 minutes. For the second game in a row, the Rockets blew their early lead as a result of shoddy defense.

The Clippers racked up 41 points in the second quarter — again, this team didn’t have Chris Paul and, in turn, a reliable point guard — and took a nine-point lead going into the halftime break.

Give the Rockets credit: they eventually clamped down on the defensive end, James Harden got going offensively and they were able to grind out a six-point victory.

But this Rockets team shouldn’t be having to grind out wins or, even more, losing games to that Clippers team, given Chris Paul’s absence and the other circumstances surrounding these first two games that we discussed earlier.

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    • There’s no getting around it: the Rockets have massively underperformed and now find themselves in a terrible situation. Los Angeles has made this a five-game series, one in which they have home-court advantage in.

    And while Doc Rivers made clear before Game 2 that Paul’s status for Game 3 is up in the air, one has to figure there’s a good shot the Clippers’ best player gives it a go on Friday.

    The Clippers just scored 226 points in two games without Paul; the Rockets have to be worried about what Los Angeles team will do offensively against them once CP3 returns.

    Still, the Rockets are very much alive in this series. This is a team that at its best is a potential championship contender. They have one of the best 1-2 punches in the league with Harden and Dwight Howard and have proven to be one of the league’s better teams on both ends of the floor.

    But they are no longer the favorites in this series. Someway, somehow, the Clippers, with all the odds stacked against them, grabbed control of this series in the first two games. And unless they play a lot better going forward, the Rockets just might not able to get it back.

    Next: The Biggest X-Factor On Every NBA Playoff Team

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