The Clippers take an early lead and cruise to victory over the Rockets 142-111
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The Los Angeles Clippers jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first half and defeated the Houston Rockets 142-111 in the last game before the NBA’s All-Star break on Thursday night. Marcus Morris Sr. scored 27 points and Luke Kennard added 25 as the Clippers beat the Rockets 142-111 in the final game before the All-Star break.
Semi for three! ?
? @BallySportWest | @semi pic.twitter.com/AIdp7yAKRV
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 18, 2022
Terance Mann scored 20 points to help the Clippers win their third game in a row. Los Angeles shot 51.4 percent (18 of 35) from 3-point range and outrebounded New Orleans 50-35. Kennard made 8 of 9 3-point attempts in his last game before Saturday’s 3-point battle.
Jalen Green scored 21 points and Jae’Sean Tate added 19 for the Rockets, who dropped their seventh consecutive game and 11th in their last 12 contests. Christian Wood and Josh Christopher both scored 13 points for Houston, which looked to run out of steam one night after narrowly defeating the Phoenix Suns on the road.
READ MORE: Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns – Suns wins 103-96
The Clippers grabbed their first double-digit lead of the game at 24-14, with 5:46 left in the first quarter. With 6:54 left in the first half, they lead by 17 points, 54-37, and were up 71-59 at the break.
In the first half, Los Angeles shot 58 percent (29 of 50) from the field and 63.2 percent (12 of 19) from the 3-point range. The Clippers shot 54.9 percent from the field as a team.
Reggie Jackson led the Clippers with 12 points and a season-high 14 assists. Ivica Zubac led the team with 13 points and ten rebounds, while Amir Coffey and Isaiah Hartenstein added 13 points apiece. Hartenstein and Mann contributed eight rebounds.
Dennis Schroder finished with nine points and nine assists in his third game.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said, “We need to continue to build on what we have going right now, who brought an overnight bag to his postgame press conference and said he was heading immediately to Las Vegas for the break. “Coming into this last stretch, starting with a game against the Lakers, we talked about one game at a time. We knew it was going to be a tough stretch. To go (4-4) against the opponents we had, it’s a tribute to the guys in the locker room.”
