https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/beverpa01.htmlThe Los Angeles Clippers (36-18) on the back half of back-to-back games defeated the Houston Rockets (14-38) last night at Staples Center 126-109. The Clippers got some bad news yesterday as Patrick Beverley will no longer be available for the foreseeable future as he suffered a broken hand in the game previous against the Suns. This is disappointing as Pat had just come back from injury only to once again all but immediately go down again. Not surprising whatsoever, but still disappointing. Paul George sat out for precautionary reasons, as to not aggravate his lingering foot issue by playing back-to-back.
Without 2 starters the Clippers were still able to put down the lowly Rockets relatively easily. They had a bit of a rough 1st quarter, letting Houston get out to a 14 point lead, but they followed that up by putting together one of their best quarters in franchise history in the second by beating them in the frame 41-10. The Rockets would not go down easily. They refused to let up, and eventually cut into the lead and made it somewhat close in the second half by beating the Clips 37-27 in the 3rd. However, on the strength of that terrific second quarter the Clippers were able to pull away late, and beat the Rockets by double digits for their 4th win a row.
STAR OF THE GAME
For this one I am going to give it to Reggie Jackson and his 26 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. With Pat Bev out once again with no timetable for his return, it looks like Jackson will be back in the starting point guard postition. He has earned that role, and continued to show why last night. After getting poked in the eye the night before, Reggie wore protective glasses for this game. He made his first 7 shots in a row, and ended up going 10 of 14 from the field with 6 out of 9 from the 3 pointers. With that kind of shooting performance Reggie will likely want to keep the glasses on going forward.
BIGGEST CONCERN
Once again the health of the team. Can Pat Bev still even be considered a member of the team with how often he is injured? His reckless antics have once again costed his team. He says he wants badly to be out there for his team, but his actions say otherwise. Going that hard 100% of the time increases your chances of getting hurt. With his propensity for being unavailable, you’d think he’d dial it back just a bit to reduce the risk. But no, with him it’s “go hard or go home”. Now since he has gone so hard, he’s gone home. The team has learned to succeed in his absence, they just need to get Serge Ibaka back.
SURPRISE CONTRIBUTION
Terance Mann and his 16 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals off the bench. Mann had his minutes somewhat reduced from where they had been lately after Pat Bev returned, and when Rondo started playing. Now with Pat out once again Mann got some extended playing time, and he did not miss a beat. He continued the outstanding play he had been doing in Pat’s absence. The Clippers as a team need to just move on and act like Pat is just not even on the team anymore. They can do that by continuing to give Mann this many minutes. Mann has to just keep it up.
Next Game
Vs. Detroit Pistons, Sunday, April 11th at 7:00PM Pacific
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CLIPPERS GROUND THE ROCKETS CLIPPERS GROUND THE ROCKETS
