LA Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan helped put a stop to dominance by Houston’s Dwight Howard

Clippers Rockets Basketball

DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers shoots over Dwight Howard of Houston during the Clippers’ 122-106 victory Wednesday at Houston/AP photo by Pat Sullivan

 

Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets was a royal pain to the Clippers the first three times the teams played this season. He went for 20 points and 20 rebounds in the Rockets’ 109-105 victory over the Clippers on Nov. 7 at Staples Center. He scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 107-97 win over the Clippers on Dec. 19 at Houston and he went for 36 points and 26 rebounds in a 140-132 Clippers overtime victory Jan. 18 at Staples Center.

It was a very different story Wednesday, when the Clippers (43-24) went to Houston and routed the Rockets 122-106. Howard scored just six points on 2 of 4 shooting and grabbed only seven rebounds in nearly 33 minutes.

His Clippers counterpart – DeAndre Jordan – played a big hand in Howard’s non-showing.

“He was great,” said Rivers, whose team will next play Saturday at Memphis. “He had a great game and Dwight has had so many big games against us, the last three especially. We put a major focus on that. Our guys did a great job of game planning there. (James) Harden is just tough to stop, no matter what you do, but when Harden and Howard score, you don’t win.

“I thought our guys did a fantastic job being in the right spot. We did what we were supposed to do and we didn’t let (Dwight) get behind us. He may have had the first dunk, but after that, he didn’t get any underneath; it was just good defense.”

Jordan not only helped shut down Howard, he scored 23 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked two shots.

As for the Rockets’ Harden, he scored 33 points on 11 of 23 shooting. He did his part for Houston (34-34), Howard did not.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 122-106 victory at Houston

Houston Rockets interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, center, yells as Michael Beasley, left, faces the Clippers' Paul Pierce during Wednesday's game in Houston. The Clippers won 122-106. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Paul Pierce, right, of the Clippers is hounded by the Houston Rockets’ Michael Beasley as Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff looks on during Wednesday’s game at Houston//AP photo by Pat Sullivan

 

– You never know what can happen from one game to the next. In Tuesday’s loss at San Antonio, the bench stunk up the joint by scoring just 20 points while shooting a lousy 27.2 percent (6 of 22). The opposite happened in this one. Reserves scored 47 points and shot 17 of 29 (58.6 percent). Wes Johnson, who has been struggling mightily with his shot for some time, made 5 of 5 from the field.

– Fine game by DeAndre Jordan. He scored 23 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked two shots. He also made 7 of 13 from the free-throw line. For that, that’s good.

J.J. Redick had one of those games from deep. He shot 5 of 9 from beyond the arc and scored a team-high 25 points.

– Speaking of the reserves, Jamal Crawford’s performance had to put a smile on Doc Rivers’ face. Crawford shot just 1 of 9 at San Antonio and scored only six points. He scored 14 points in this one and made 4 of 9 from the field. Crawford also doled out seven assists.

– It’s interesting to note that while Jordan had a fine game for the Clippers (43-24), his counterpart – Dwight Howard – did not. Howard took just four shots – he made two – in nearly 33 minutes. He scored six points and grabbed only seven rebounds. Howard averages 14.8 points and 12.1 rebounds on the season for the Rockets (34-34).

Five things to take from Clippers’ 140-132 OT win over Rockets

Los Angeles Clipper J.J.  Redick ,4, celebrates his 9th three pointer in overtime against Huston, at the Staples Center.  The Clippers won 140-132.   Los Angeles, Calif., Monday, January,18, 2016.     

 (Photo by Stephen Carr / Daily Breeze)

J.J. Redick celebrates one of his nine 3-point baskets in Monday’s 140-132 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets at Staples Center/Staff photo by Stephen Carr

 

– The Clippers made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in this game, one shy of the NBA record. The Clippers shot 59.5 percent (22 of 27) from beyond the arc. Interestingly, their overall percentage was lower at 51.6.

– What a night for J.J. Redick. He scored a career-high 40 points. He made his first five 3-point attempts and eventually went 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. Redick is now shooting 50 percent (103 of 206) from long-distance, tops in the NBA. He’s shooting 48.9 percent overall.

– Considering he had missed the previous two games with pneumonia, DeAndre Jordan had himself a heck of a game. He scored 16 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and blocked two shots. Jordan played 41 minutes, second only to Chris Paul’s 41 1/2. Jordan also made 50 percent (4 of 8) of his free throws. For someone shooting 41.5 percent on the season, that’s not too shabby.

– Speaking of Chris Paul, he also had a terrific showing. He scored 28 points, doled out 12 assists, grabbed six rebounds and made six steals. He had five turnovers. But again, he played 41 1/2 minutes and he’s the point guard. No one’s perfect. Heck, he even blocked a shot.

– Other than giving up a 14-point lead with 4:17 to play that allowed the game to go into overtime, the only other real negative to this game for the Clippers was that they were outrebounded 51-42. Two things on that – the Clippers hardly ever outrebound an opponent, and Houston’s Dwight Howard had a whopping 26 boards.

NBA: Goaltending should have been called on Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard defends against Blake Griffin during the first half of Saturday’s game between the Clippers and Rockets, won 109-105 by the Rockets at Staples Center/AP photo by Jae C. Hong

 

The Clippers claimed Houston center Dwight Howard should have been called for goaltending on a shot by Blake Griffin that would have tied the score with 18.8 seconds left in the Clippers’ 109-105 loss to the Rockets on Saturday at Staples Center.

The NBA – in its L2m (Last 2 Minutes) report – agreed, writing in part, “Howard (HOU) makes contact with the ball while part of it is still in the cylinder above the basket ring.”

A non-goaltending call cannot be reviewed.

Adam Silver doubts change will come regarding intentional fouling

DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

According to a story on ESPN.com, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters covering the NBA Finals in Oakland that there is little chance there will be a rule change that would prevent the intentional fouling of poor free-throw shooters like DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets.

Silver said league executives at the general managers meeting in mid-May were opposed to any changes.

“The data shows that we’re largely talking about two teams, throughout the playoffs,” Silver said. “In fact, 90 percent of the occurrences of Hack-a-Shaq invole the Rockets and the Clippers. And for the most part, it’s two players. Seventy-five percent involve two players, DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard. So then the question becomes, should we be making that rule change largely for two teams and two players?”

Jordan, an unrestricted free agent, shot just 39.7 percent from the free-throw line this season and has just a 41.7 career percentage over seven seasons. Howard shot 52.8 percent this season and has shot 57.3 percent over 11 seasons.

J.J. Redick says crushing Game 7 loss feels ‘like a wake or a funeral’

Blake Griffin #32 of the Los Angeles Clippers congratulates Dwight Howard #12 of the Houston Rockets after the Rockets defeated the Clippers 113 to 100 during Game Seven of the Western Conference Semifinals at the Toyota Center for the 2015 NBA Playoffs on May 17, 2015 in Houston, Texas.   (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Blake Griffin of the Clippers shakes hands with the Rockets’ Dwight Howard following Houston’s 113-100 victory over the Clippers in Game 7/Photo by Scott Halleran, Getty Images

 

J.J. Redick wasn’t the only member of the Clippers to struggle in the last three games of the Western Conference semifinals won by the Houston Rockets on Sunday via a 113-100 count over the Clippers in Game 7 at Toyota Center in Houston.

Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes also struggled.

Redick on Sunday scored 10 points on 4 of 12 shooting, 2 of 9 from 3-point range. He also had six of his team’s 18 turnovers.

Afterward, Redick described the mood.

“Still in shock,” he said. “Sadness. Disappointment. You never want to equate sports with death, but it does feel like a wake or a funeral.”