Clippers Lose to Rockets in Game 2

The Los Angeles Clippers lost 115-109 to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night in Game 2 of their best-of-seven NBA Playoffs series.

With the crowd responding to a shocking Game 1 defeat, the Houston Rockets started Game 2 with energy and jumped out to an 11-point lead. Early foul trouble for Clippers center DeAndre Jordan allowed Rockers center Dwight Howard to catch lobs at the basket and score with ease. In building the early 11-point lead, Howard collected 11 points on 5-6 shooting.

In the face of Howard's athleticism, Blake Griffin jumped into action. The forward continued to showcase why he was drafted with the no. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. In the first quarter, Griffin jockeyed for 14 points, which was more than half of the team's total. The 26-year-old forward had collected triple-doubles in back-to-back games entering Game 2.

On Wednesday night, Griffin continued his elite play. With Jordan back on the court in the second quarter, the Clippers would ride their big men into the lead. Jordan would make all four of his field goals and both of his free throws for 10 points in the second period. Griffin would score another 12 points in the second period by hitting all six of his shots and making both of his free throws, too.

Shooting 76.2 percent from the field in the second quarter, the Clippers scored 41 points in the second quarter and took a nine-point lead into the halftime break. Griffin had 26 points at that stage. The Rockets particularly struggled with hitting three-point shots, as the home team entered the intermission with only two long-range makes in 14 attempts. Also, Houston had been sloppy with the ball, as the Clippers' active hands had collected six steals and forced 10 turnovers in the first 24 minutes.

In the third quarter, the Clippers would experience highs and lows. First, the visitors would extend their lead to 13 points within the first couple minutes of being out of the locker room. Rockets star James Harden would earn his fourth foul and head to the bench. However, the Rockets' defense would pick up, as the Clippers slumped to shooting only 29.4 percent in the third quarter.

Harden would eventually return, and the attacking guard would lead a parade of trips to the foul line in order to close the gap. In the third quarter, the Rockets shot made 15 free throws on 25 attempts. In contrast, the Clippers only shot seven free throws, making six of them. Entering the fourth quarter, the visitors still led by two points.

Without Chris Paul for the second game in a row, the Clippers were only 12 minutes from taking a 2-0 lead in the series. At the start of the fourth quarter, a clock malfunction would momentarily delay the game until two shot clocks were placed on each baseline. The delay, however, did not change the trend of the game. The Rockets continued to get to the foul line. Add in a couple three-pointers, and Houston took a five-point lead with 9:45 left in the game.

The trips to the foul line appeared to help Harden, as he began to hit from range. With 6:45 to play, the Clippers trailed by six points. At that stage, coach Doc Rivers decided to intentionally foul Howard. After a couple round of free throws, Houston took an intentional foul and sat their center down. At that stage, the Rockets had already shot over 50 free throws.

When the game counted down to three minutes, the Rockets led by eight points and appeared en route to a comfortable win. However, the game would get a bit more interesting when the Clippers cut the lead to only four points after Griffin and Matt Barnes made a couple buckets. Harden, however, would respond and extend the lead to six points.

The Clippers would eventually fight back to trail by only four points and corralled a rebound with 41.9 seconds to play. Had they scored, they would be in position to steal the game. Instead, Austin Rivers attempted a behind the back dribble and fell flat on his face, literally. The Rockets got the ball and Howard hit two free throws to ice the game.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Rockets had won 115-109 with Harden finishing with 32 points, seven assists and seven turnovers. Fifteen of Harden's points came from the free throw line, as the Rockets attempted 64 free throws in the game. The Clippers attempted half as many foul shots, 32.

With the series tied at 1-1, Game 3 will be played back in Los Angeles on Friday night. Paul's involvement for Game 3 remains questionable.