Final: That does it, folks! Thanks for joining me on this Live. Hope you enjoyed it. Good night! I am Vahan Shakhpazyan, signing off.
Final: All four semifinals series' are now tied at 1-1.
Final: The Clippers got their split either way, without Chris Paul.
Final: It was looking like the Clippers were going to get another win on the road, but the Rockets showed more energy and effort, getting the 50/50 balls and playing defense with more aggression.
Final: The Rockets shot 64 free throws, 64!
Final: Harden played with better energy and had more rhythm. He went to the line 15 times, which is more like it.
Final: Griffin had 26 points in the first half, only eight in the second half. The Rockets fronted him with Trevor Ariza, and it took Griffin out of the game.
Final: Rockets win and tie up the series at one apiece!
4th Quarter (:00): Clippers 109 Rockets 115.
4th Quarter (:06): Howard misses both.
4th Quarter (:06): Crawford misses a dunk, and Howard is fouled on the rebound. Looks like we will have another series tied at one!
4th Quarter (:13): Harden puts in both!
4th Quarter (:13): Harden is fouled. He will shoot two.
4th Quarter (:15): Clippers toss an alley-oop pass to Jordan on the inbounds play. Great play!
Timeout Clippers.
4th Quarter (:16): Clippers 107 Rockets 113.
4th Quarter (:16): Howard makes both, though! HUGE!
4th Quarter (:16): Howard is fouled by Griffin. Pretty good foul.
4th Quarter (:37): The Clippers came up with a stop but Austin Rivers lost his balance on the other end and dropped the ball out of bounds.
4th Quarter (1:00): Crawford drops in both.
4th Quarter (1:00): Crawford dives to the lane and is fouled.
Timeout Clippers!
4th Quarter (1:11): Clippers 105 Rockets 111.
4th Quarter (1:11): Harden takes it hard to the hole and finishes!
4th Quarter (1:27): Barnes hits a long two! It's a four-point game!
4th Quarter (2:11): Howard misses both.
4th Quarter (2:11): Now the Clippers foul Howard, who was put back in after that timeout. Jordan was taken out by the Clippers, in case you are wondering.
4th Quarter (2:12): Griffin hits a jump hook! His first fourth quarter points of the series!
4th Quarter (2:28): The energy is back in the building, and the Rockets may just be able to hold on. Still a lot of time though.
4th Quarter (2:28): Either way, the Rockets have done a wonderful job of fronting Griffin to take him out of the game. Ariza has been defending him throughout the period and he has held his own.
4th Quarter (2:28): Rivers just called a timeout to probably take Jordan out of the game.
4th Quarter (2:28): Clippers 101 Rockets 109.
4th Quarter (2:52): Jordan misses both!
4th Quarter (2:52): Hack-A-Jordan is in effect now.
Timeout Houston.
4th Quarter (3:17): Clippers 101 Rockets 109.
4th Quarter (3:17): Barnes knocks down both.
4th Quarter (3:17): Jordan is back into the game, Griffin sits.
4th Quarter (3:17): Now we've got a foul on Prigioni, his fourth. Barnes to the line.
4th Quarter (3:46): Rivers quickly responds as he takes it to the rim!
4th Quarter (3:57): Harden takes it to the hole!
4th Quarter (4:31): Griffin gets 1 of 2. He has 32 points.
4th Quarter (4:31): Griffin is fouled.
4th Quarter (4:45): Harden knocks in both.
4th Quarter (4:45): And guess what? More free throws. Harden is fouled by Rivers, who picks up his fifth.
4th Quarter (4:58): Fronting Griffin has worked.
4th Quarter (5:28): After another jump ball, Jones gets an easy dunk!
Timeout!
4th Quarter (5:49): Clippers 96 Rockets 103.
4th Quarter (6:18): Rockets intentionally foul the Clippers to get Howard out of the ball game.
4th Quarter (6:20): Howard gets both this time.
4th Quarter (6:20): Another intentionally foul.
4th Quarter (6:29): Rivers attacks the rim and finishes with a driving layup.
4th Quarter (6:45): Howard makes one, misses one.
4th Quarter (6:45): Hack-A-Howard time!
4th Quarter (6:51): Rivers buries a trey!
4th Quarter (7:15): We have another jump ball, this one between Harden and Griffin.
4th Quarter (7:36): Brewer gets both!
4th Quarter (7:36): Howard rejects Griffin's dunk attempt, which leads to Brewer getting fouled on the other end. So many free throws. The Rockets have shot 50 free throws.
4th Quarter (8:10): Crawford rolls in a long two.
4th Quarter (8:28): Harden drills another triple!
4th Quarter (8:57): Ariza uses a fake to get Griffin in the air and takes it to the rack for two!
4th Quarter (9:32): Griffin hits 1 of 2.
4th Quarter (9:32): Griffin is clobbered and fouled by Ariza. That's his fourth.
Timeout Clippers!
4th Quarter (9:45): Clippers 88 Rockets 93.
4th Quarter (9:45): Harden knocks down a three!
4th Quarter (10:04): Brewer ties up Griffin for a jump ball.
4th Quarter (10:26): Ariza drills a three! Rockets up 2!
4th Quarter (10:46): Harden gets both to go down.
4th Quarter (10:46): Harden draws the fourth foul on Rivers.
4th Quarter (11:00): Crawford puts in a huge three to quiet the crowd!
4th Quarter (11:27): Ariza picks up Harden's miss and ties the game with a lay in!
4th Quarter (11:54): Game is in play.
4th Quarter (11:54): Wow, they have brought out old shot clocks and placed them on the ground for both teams to see the time.
4th Quarter (11:54): Clocks still being worked on.
4th Quarter (11:54): There is a delay in the game as it seems the shot clock and game clock on Houston's court has gone out. They are checking for a blown fuse.
3rd Quarter (:00): Griffin had just four points in the third.
3rd Quarter (:00): Harden, Howard, Hudson, Jordan, and Turkoglu all have four fouls. Ariza, Jones, Davis, Barnes, Griffin, and Redick all have three fouls.
3rd Quarter (:00): Foul trouble will be key down the stretch.
3rd Quarter (:00): That does it for the third. The Rockets played with better energy in that quarter to cut a 13-point deficit to two.
3rd Quarter (:00): Clippers 85 Rockets 83.
3rd Quarter (:35): Ariza hits 1 of 2.
3rd Quarter (:35): Terry finds Ariza who is hacked and fouled by Turkoglu. He picks up his fourth.
3rd Quarter (:46): Terry controls the tip!
3rd Quarter (:46): What a play by Turkoglu! He knocked the ball away from Harden then dove for the loose ball, but Terry jumped on Turkoglu and forced a jump ball!
3rd Quarter (1:25): Harden hits both.
3rd Quarter (1:25): Harden draws another foul!
3rd Quarter (1:48): Harden gets both.
3rd Quarter (1:48): Hudson is called for a reach in foul. He has four fouls. Harden to the line.
3rd Quarter (2:07): Smith misses both.
3rd Quarter (2:07): Another Hack-A-Smith.
Timeout!
3rd Quarter (2:08): Clippers 85 Rockets 78.
3rd Quarter (2:09): Crawford gets another tear drop to go!
3rd Quarter (2:55): Terry hits one down the other end. No rim protection on both ends with Howard and Jordan out.
3rd Quarter (3:14): Crawford quickly responds.
3rd Quarter (3:21): Brewer flips up the shot inside and gets it to go.
3rd Quarter (4:08): Crawford gets a floater to go down.
3rd Quarter (4:24): Smith hits 1 of 2.
3rd Quarter (4:24): Here we go. Hack-A-Smith.
3rd Quarter (4:26): Griffin gets both.
3rd Quarter (4:26): Now we got another foul. Griffin will head to the line.
3rd Quarter (4:37): Howard puts in 1 of 2.
3rd Quarter (4:37): Jordan just picked up his fourth foul. Howard to the line.
3rd Quarter (4:49): Jordan with a monstrous offensive rebound and he throws it down!
3rd Quarter (5:08): Terry gets both to go down.
3rd Quarter (5:08): Terry is now fouled. He heads to the line for two.
3rd Quarter (5:50): Jordan knocks down both!
3rd Quarter (5:50): What a silly foul by Jones. He just fouled Jordan, who was 16-feet out, with one second left on the shot clock. Jordan to the line for two.
3rd Quarter (6:13): Brewer gets 1 of 2.
3rd Quarter (6:13): Brewer goes coast to coast and draws the third foul on Barnes.
3rd Quarter (6:40): Jones floats one in over Jordan!
3rd Quarter (6:52): Redick's shot is goal tended by Howard.
3rd Quarter (6:53): Better defensive energy by the Rockets in this third quarter.
3rd Quarter (7:10): Jones makes both.
3rd Quarter (7:10): Jones gets the steal and he is fouled on the other end.
3rd Quarter (7:22): Howard just picked up his fourth. So Harden has four and now Howard does too.
Timeout Clippers!
3rd Quarter (7:34): Clippers 71 Rockets 65.
3rd Quarter (7:34): Terry swishes home a corner jumper.
3rd Quarter (8:14): Howard cleans up Jones' miss with a two-handed dunk!
3rd Quarter (8:42): And Ariza just picked up his third after pushing Rivers out of the way.
3rd Quarter (9:01): What a drive by Rivers to get an acrobatic lay up to go in.
3rd Quarter (9:18): Jones gets all the way to the hole for a dunk in transition.
3rd Quarter (9:30): Ariza hits all three.
3rd Quarter (9:30): Redick picks up his third, fouling Ariza behind the arc.
3rd Quarter (9:39): Jordan just picked up his third foul. Harden is on the bench, by the way.
3rd Quarter (10:14): Brewer is now fouled. He heads to the line for two.
3rd Quarter (10:30): Griffin is unable to complete the three-point play.
3rd Quarter (10:30): Griffin takes it in again and is fouled!!
3rd Quarter (10:32): Jordan rejects another one of Howard's shots.
3rd Quarter (10:49): Redick gets both free throws.
3rd Quarter (10:49): Now Redick is fouled.
3rd Quarter (11:07): Howard is fouled to start this half but he misses both free throws.
Halftime: Howard does have a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, but he cannot do it alone. Harden started off well, but still has five turnovers and is shooting 3 of 8.
Halftime: Rockets have given up 65 points in the first half. Clippers are shooting 53 percent from the field. That cannot happen. Inexcusable defense!
Halftime: DeAndre Jordan is a plus-19 in the game. He is a huge difference maker. He had two early fouls, so he had to sit and the Clippers went down by 11.
Halftime: This is just an inspiring performance by the Clippers, who have all the momentum and a ton of confidence.
Halftime: Griffin has put in a playoff career-high of 26 points in one half.
Halftime: What a second quarter by the Clippers who shot over 75 percent in the period to overcome an 11-point deficit.
2nd Quarter (:00): Clippers 65 Rockets 56.
2nd Quarter (:07): Crawford hits an off balance two!
2nd Quarter (:30): Harden buries a three on a two for one situation.
2nd Quarter (:39): Redick drills a three!! !11-point Clippers lead.
2nd Quarter (1:39): Griffin gets another one to go. He is definitely in the zone. He's got 26 first half points.
2nd Quarter (2:03): Howard makes one of two.
2nd Quarter (2:03): Howard is smacked and fouled inside.
2nd Quarter (2:20): Beautiful alley-oop pass by Griffin to Jordan!
2nd Quarter (2:33): Jones takes it at Griffin for two.
Timeout!
2nd Quarter (2:49): Clippers 56 Rockets 49.
2nd Quarter (3:03): Griffin easily gets to the rim for another two.
2nd Quarter (3:39): Jordan hits two free throws after he was fouled on the rebound attempt.
Timeout!
2nd Quarter (4:20): Clippers 52 Rockets 49.
2nd Quarter (4:34): Terry gets inside the paint and gets a two to go down.
2nd Quarter (4:49): A broken play turns into a J.J. Redick three. His first points of the game.
2nd Quarter (5:04): Another one! Smith tosses the lob to Howard now.
2nd Quarter (5:20): Jordan cleans up the miss and puts it back in.
2nd Quarter (5:41): Harden throws up another lob to Howard for another one-handed stuff!
2nd Quarter (6:14): Griffin is making it look easy.
2nd Quarter (6:31): Smith hits a top of the key jumper!
2nd Quarter (6:50): Griffin in the lane and he knocks down another one.
2nd Quarter (7:16): Rivers makes 1 of 2.
2nd Quarter (7:16): Austin Rivers attacks Howard and draws a foul in mid-air. Nice aggression.
2nd Quarter (7:28): Prigioni is fouled and he connects on both free throws.
2nd Quarter (7:28): What a quick turnaround here in the second quarter! 12-0 run. Jordan being in the game has made a huge difference. He is a plus-18. The team is minus-12 without him. Harden back into the game.
2nd Quarter (7:48): Hudson finds Griffin on the fast break, and the Clippers have a 3-point lead now!
2nd Quarter (8:20): Griffin drills a mid-range jumper!
2nd Quarter (8:48): Hudson knocks down a three! One-point game!
Timeout Rockets!
2nd Quarter (9:36): Clippers 35 Rockets 39.
2nd Quarter (9:43): Crawford lobs it to Jordan for a one-handed hammer!!! A thing of beauty!
2nd Quarter (10:06): Hedo Turkoglu pockets a corner triple!
2nd Quarter (10:30): Brewer responds with a two of his own.
2nd Quarter (10:39): Hudson redeems himself with a long two.
2nd Quarter (10:52): Hudson throws the ball away which leads to a Ariza dunk on the other end!
2nd Quarter (11:14): Lester Hudson gets a steal then finds a trailing Jordan for a dunk!
2nd Quarter (11:40): Crawford gets 2 of 3.
2nd Quarter (11:40): Crawford is fouled on a three-point attempt. Jordan is back into the game.
1st Quarter (:00): Jordan's two early fouls hurt the Clippers a lot!
1st Quarter (:00): Very good start by Harden and the Rockets. They own the pace and are trying to push it every chance they get. Harden is aggressive, already has gone to the line six times.
1st Quarter (:00): Clippers 24 Rockets 35.
1st Quarter (:34): Harden gets his two foul shots and the technical free throw.
1st Quarter (:34): Barnes just picked up a technical.
1st Quarter (:34): Harden flies in for a two and he is knocked to the floor.
1st Quarter (1:07): Brewer leaks out right after the free throws and gets an easy two. Inexcusable for the Clippers.
1st Quarter (1:09): Crawford makes both.
1st Quarter (1:09): Now Crawford is fouled. Plenty of fouls both ways so far.
1st Quarter (1:11): Smith gets 1 of 2.
1st Quarter (1:11): Harden finds Smith in transition, who is fouled and sent to the line.
1st Quarter (2:29): Corey Brewer goes across the lane for two!
1st Quarter (2:49): Redick was fouled prior to the timeout. He hits both free throws.
1st Quarter (2:49): Much better start by Harden, who is attacking the rim aggressively.
Timeout.
1st Quarter (2:49): Clippers 20 Rockets 27.
1st Quarter (2:55): Prigioni drains a three!
1st Quarter (3:11): Great passing and patience by the Clippers, finding Griffin underneath for an easy two.
1st Quarter (3:34): Harden drives to the lane and finishes with a nice layup.
1st Quarter (3:57): Howard lays it in with his left to respond.
1st Quarter (4:09): Crawford tosses up a graceful pass to Griffin for the alley-oop throw down!
1st Quarter (4:59): Griffin gets both. He's got 10 already.
1st Quarter (4:59): Griffin attacks the rim and is fouled by Howard. Really loving the pace to this one.
1st Quarter (5:03): Harden pushes it down the lane for two.
1st Quarter (5:33): Barnes takes it to the hole after a steal, but Josh Smith quickly answers back.
1st Quarter (5:46): Davis hits a jump shot out of the timeout.
Timeout Clippers!
1st Quarter (5:57): Clippers 10 Rockets 16.
1st Quarter (5:57): Smith cleans up Harden's miss and lays it in for two.
1st Quarter (6:23): Howard dunks another one down off the alley-oop pass!!
1st Quarter (6:33): Wow what a play by Griffin. He takes it coast to coast for a scoop layup in semi-transition.
1st Quarter (7:21): Howard misses the free throw.
1st Quarter (7:21): Harden tosses up another lob to Howard who hammers it down and a foul!!
1st Quarter (7:50): Howard erases Rivers shot at the rim!
1st Quarter (8:01): Terry gets 2 of 3.
1st Quarter (8:01): Terry is fouled behind the arc. That's already five team fouls by the Clippers.
1st Quarter (8:16): On the other end, Harden picks up his first foul.
1st Quarter (8:27): Harden makes both.
1st Quarter (8:27): Harden draws a foul on Davis, that is his first. Harden to the line.
1st Quarter (8:40): Big Baby hits a corner two.
1st Quarter (9:00): Harden lobs it to Howard for a dunk! No Jordan, no interior defense for the Clippers.
1st Quarter (9:30): Ariza hits both free throws. Jordan to the bench.
1st Quarter (9:30): Jordan just picked up his second foul. That is huge!
1st Quarter (10:15): Howard misses both.
1st Quarter (10:15): Howard is hacked and fouled by Jordan.
1st Quarter (10:30): Jordan with another knock which leads to a one-handed stuff by Blake Griffin in transition!
1st Quarter (10:59): Griffin is fouled and hits both free throws.
1st Quarter (11:04): Terrence Jones scoops a beautiful pass down low to Howard for a two-handed monstrous dunk!
1st Quarter (11:16): Howard is called for a goal tend the other end after trying to swat away Griffin's shot.
1st Quarter (11:43): Already a block by Jordan who knocked away Howard's shot attempt down low.
1st Quarter (12:00): We are underway!
Beat L.A. chants.
About 10-15 minutes until tipoff!
Earlier, Matt Barnes was working on his corner three-point shot.
The Rockets are ready to go!
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers/Bulls game is still going on with Cleveland up 17, under three minutes left. Check out VAVEL USA's Live of that game.
A sea of red t-shirts in the Toyota Center tonight rather than red and silver or yellow.
The Beard is getting warmed up, hoping for a better game.
The Clippers can afford to play without Paul tonight, but they will need him to return by Friday for Game 3.
"He’s moving better today than he was so that’s a good sign but not good enough to play in a basketball game," Rivers said on Paul.
Austin Rivers will continue to get the start at point guard.
Official: Chris Paul will not play tonight, Doc Rivers has confirmed.
Chris Paul is doubtful for Game 2, which shouldn't hurt the Clippers since they have already taken a game in Houston. Besides, it gives Paul extra time to heal and rest after an exhausting first round against the San Antonio Spurs. "I pretty much doubt [that he'll play]," coach Doc Rivers said.
The Rockets magnificent bench was kept quiet. Josh Smith and Corey Brewer were held to nine and six points respective as the two did not make a huge impact on this game like they did throughout the first round against the Dallas Mavericks. Pablo Prigioni was the only bench player who had a wonderful game, scoring 11 points on 3 of 5 from three-point territory.
Lastly, there was DeAndre Jordan's big time defensive presence. Jordan blocked four shots and nabbed 13 rebounds. He also added five assists and two steals. He was masterfully patrolling the paint and was an intimidation factor all game long, as talked about earlier.
J.J. Redick, who had zero points by halftime, came alive in the second half of Game 1 and was a difference maker. Redick scored all 17 of his points in the final 24 minutes, and once he got going, the Clippers were able to overcome a four-point halftime deficit to take full control of the game. It comes to show how crucial Redick's scoring is to the team.
Crawford's play making was subpar as well. He did have four assists but turned it over six times. His scoring was fantastic, however, as he poured in 21 points off the pine in 32 minutes and hit timely three-point baskets.
Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers filled in admirably for Paul as the point guards of the team. Rivers started in place of Paul and scored 17 points, while hitting four treys and coming away with four steals. He wasn't play making too well, as there was one possession where he literally grabbed the rebound and gave it to Blake Griffin to bring the ball up. But, Rivers was effective scoring wise.
Outside of Griffin, others stepped up for the absent Chris Paul. Matt Barnes was in the middle of it all, as he racked up 20 points, five rebounds, four steals, three assists, and two blocks on 8 of 11 shooting from the floor. He was perfect with his two-point shots, mainly because most of them were easy layups in transition. The Clippers were looking to push the ball every chance they got to get early offense, and Barnes was the initiator, leaking out after every defensive stop. Barnes' shot chart demonstrates the easy two's he was getting all night long. As you can see, most were layups.
Here is an excellent breakdown of Blake Griffin's play making via BBALLBREAKDOWN:
"He's incredible. He gets in the middle of the field and kind of just picks people apart like Tom Brady," Barnes raved about Griffin. "That's like a grown man triple-double right there."
There was no answer for Blake Griffin all night long, though. Griffin put in a triple-double of 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists on 9 of 19 shooting from the field. He was aggressive as he has been throughout these playoffs. Griffin is without question playing the best basketball of his career, which is why the Clippers are succeeding. He has been constantly attacking the rim and hitting his mid-range shots. One surprising aspect of his game has been his play making. We know that he is an underrated passer, but he has taken it to a whole new level, averaging over eight assists a game during the playoffs. He has collected three triple-doubles thus far.
Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza were the only two who I thought had complete games. Howard poured in 22 points while grabbing 10 boards and blocking five shots. He was solemnly protecting the rim and playing with energy. Ariza added 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Furthermore, James Harden was quiet all night long, even though he did score 20 points and dish out 12 assists. He only shot six free throws, three of which came because he was foolishly fouled behind the arc by Matt Barnes. Harden was not aggressively attacking the basket to draw fouls like we had seen him do throughout the season. He was settling for outside shots and seemed intimidated by DeAndre Jordan's presence. The Rockets will need Harden to play with more fire and aggressiveness.
Effort was certainly not there for the Rockets. They had 24 turnovers, which resulted into 34 points for the Clippers on the other end. Most of the miscues came off of careless passes and were unforced errors. Although the Clippers had 23 turnovers of their own, you cannot fault them that much since they did not have their starting point guard.
However, coach Kevin McHale did not use rust as an excuse. "We have to play much better than that. That was not the effort, forget everything else, just the effort level has got to be better. Days off are no excuse. You either get the thing done or you don't get it done, and we didn't get it done and they kicked our ass. That's the bottom line."
Here are the full highlights of Game 1:
While the win was impressive for the Clippers, it was completely embarrassing for the Rockets, who were deemed as the clear favorites to take Game 1 prior to the contest. Some believe that the extra rest for Houston caused them to be rusty, while the Clippers, who played seven games in the first round, had better rhythm.
The Los Angeles Clippers came in and shocked the Rockets in Game 1 without their superstar point guard Chris Paul. They took a 117-101 victory on the road to grab a 1-0 series lead, capturing home court advantage.
Hi, everybody and welcome to Game 2 of the Los Angeles Clippers vs Houston Rockets Live score from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. I am Vahan Shakhpazyan, your host for tonight's exciting game.