Short-handed Clippers blasted by Houston Rockets

INGLEWOOD — The Clippers had been idle since a tough 28-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves three nights ago.

During the layoff, they had time to get their sixth-rated defense back on track. Three days to fix what went wrong in the previous game. Three days to rest and get healthy. Three days off and the only thing that changed was the length of their injury list.

The Clippers came into Sunday’s game without Kawhi Leonard (knee), Terance Mann (finger) and James Harden (groin), which was going to be tough enough for the Clippers against the Houston Rockets.

It was announced an hour before tipoff that backup center Mo Bamba was out for injury management.

Then, in pregame warmups, back-up wing Amir Coffey injured his right shoulder and Derrick Jones, Jr., who started the game, experienced soreness in his right hamstring in the first quarter. They joined the corps of injured players on the bench, who sat helplessly as the Houston Rockets rolled to a 117-106 victory at Intuit Dome.

Without half his team, Coach Tyronn Lue was forced to look to the end of his bench.

He started Kevin Porter Jr. for the first time this season and he responded with 17 points and six assists. Lue played reserves Jordan Miller for 32 minutes and Bones Hyland for 28.

Hyland finished with a team-high 22 points, and Miller had 12 points and six rebounds.

But it wasn’t enough to overcome the voids in the lineup or Norman Powell’s relatively quiet night. Powell, who was averaging 23.9 points and shooting 50% from the field, finished with 17 points on five of 18 shooting. He made only one of eight long-range shots.

Ivica Zubac posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Clippers (14-11) lost their second consecutive game.

“We gave up too many points,” Zubac said. “No matter who’s on the floor, we can play defense. We got talented defenders and guys who play hard, so we got to definitely be better no matter who we’re missing. We can play defense.

“We can be better than this.”

Lue said before the game that it would take a collective effort to replace Harden. Harden is averaging 21.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists. It was a big ask of the role players.

“(We were) just making something happen,” Powell said of playing with a patchwork lineup. “Next man up.

“I thought we did a great job. Guys stepped up and, in their opportunities (they) played well, played together. I just think tonight was one of those nights where we didn’t make that play that shifts the momentum, shifts the energy. We were right there, we get within 10, got eight late in the game, but every time we got up to 10 they hit a 3, they got a foul.”

Lue said before the game that it would take a team effort to fill Harden’s absence. The Clippers gave it a good try, but in the end, the Rockets found too many open looks that led to them making 11 of 34 3-pointers.

“They are bigger than we are,” Lue said. “We had a lot of combinations on the floor. So, like I said, this is going to happen. … They got to the ball faster than we did and there’s nothing you can do to control that.”

Lue took solace in the fact that the team turned the ball over only eight times, a rare feat considering Harden wasn’t playing.

“We turned the ball over eight times, which is good for us,” Lue said. “I thought it was more a matter of offensively understanding what we tried to do. They made it tricky.

“I thought we competed. Like I said, we scrapped and so just every night we step on the floor, we gotta make it tough for guys to play against us and I thought we did that for the most part.”

The Clippers, who trailed by as many as 16, trimmed the lead to 10 with 4:22 left in the game. Zubac scored on a layup and a dunk to close the gap 108-98.

The Rockets made another push and led by 13 (111-98) when Dillion Brooks buried his fourth 3-pointer with 4:02 remaining.

After a pair of free throws by Zubac, Hyland completed a 3-point play to keep the game within reach, 111-103.

The Rockets had won 10 of 12 before dropping two games last week and they were determined – even without Fred VanFleet (knee) that a third loss was not going to happen. Not before a new week started.

“We want to right this ship quickly,” Ime Udoka said.

The Rockets got back to winning behind Green’s 31 points, Thompson’s 22 and Brooks’ 19. Houston (16-8) shot 48.8% from the field and 36.6% from the 3-point range.

The Rockets opened a commanding lead, 64-50, with a 12-0 run late in the second quarter and took a 64-52 lead into halftime.