After a flat out disgraceful performance in Game 1, the Houston Rockets were able to even the series out with the leadership of their dynamic duo. Behind Harden's 32 points and Howard's double-double performance of 24 points and 16 rebounds, the Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 115-109, ending their two-game homestand.

Houston started the game strong, attacking the rim which led to a 35-24 first quarter lead.

Through a series of transition buckets and Houston's lack of effort on getting back, the Clippers torched Houston for 41 points in the second quarter, marking the most points given up in a quarter this season by Houston. The 41-point effort gave Los Angeles a 65-56 lead heading into the half.

Down nine coming out of the half, Houston slowly chipped away at the deficit by buckling down on defense and capitalizing on transition opportunities.

With a more focused effort on defense in the second half, Houston ultimately sealed the victory with the help of a James Harden 16-point fourth quarter and what is without a doubt a Sportscenter NOT Top 10 play of the year by the one and only... Austin Rivers.

Although the final result was ultimately a Houston win, watching the game as a diehard Rockets fan, you can kind of just get a feeling of hopelessness.

We've all heard the expression "Adversity builds character". The second round of the playoffs is where a team's character and toughness is put to the test.

After having a one-day break fresh off of the greatest first-round series ever, the Clippers marched onto the court in Toyota Center and completely embarrassed a Houston team in front of their home crowd, winning 117-111.

The result of this game was beyond what the final score showed. This game revealed who fought their way into the second round and exposed who was spoon fed in.

When you are able to knock off the coveted San Antonio Spurs led by mastermind Greg Popovich in seven games while your point guard is playing on one hamstring, your toughness as a team should never be questioned ever again.

And when you've had five days off and get completely dismantled on your home court in a playoff atmosphere, by a team missing their starting point guard who, by the way, happens to be Chris Paul and having only one-day rest, your leadership should be questioned.

It's no secret, Houston completely overlooked Game 1 after hearing the news that Chris Paul was going to be out. They thought they can walk out onto the court and just go through the motions against a tired Clippers team. That's the difference between a championship mentality team and one that's just happy to be in the second round. Harden mentally checked himself out the game with nine turnovers while Griffin rose to the occasion and posted a triple-double.

Aside from being the mentally weaker team, Houston just does not match up well against Los Angeles.

With Chris Paul sidelined due to a hamstring injury, the Clippers have shredded this lack luster Houston defense by running their offense through Blake Griffin, who has completely dominated this post season.

Defensively the Rockets are a switch happy team, meaning they'll switch almost every screen thrown at them regardless of big to guard mismatches or vice versa. This works in favor of the Clippers' offense as they have shown a high efficiency in screening, leading the league in Set Screens Points per Chance (per VantageSports). What makes this offense so deadly is that it is almost impossible for a big to guard Chris Paul in a isolation situation. Blake Griffin is served barbeque chicken when a guard is on him (shout out to Shaquille O'Neal), J.J Redick is guaranteed a wide open look if you decide not to switch, you don't want to be on the next DeAndre Jordan poster when he's climbing up the ladder for a lob.

Perhaps Los Angeles' bread and butter play is a high "Horns" set where Jordan and Griffin set a ball screen on opposite sides. The ball handler, who is usually Chris Paul but is Austin Rivers in this case, will drive towards whatever side Jordan's screen is on while Griffin pops out looking for a mid-range jumper. The big guarding Jordan is then forced to stay in front of Rivers while Jordan dives to the rim. You can see in this clip Harden tries to fight through but is late in doing so, leaving Howard in a dilemma; give up a layup to Rivers and prevent a Jordan lob or give up a Jordan lob to block a Rivers layup.

Through two games, Bake Griffin has completely been unfair, posting a triple-double in the first while erupting for 26 points in the first half of Game 2. Griffin has thrived in the open court, forcing the issue against a weak Houston transition defense and has taken advantage of every mismatch this switch happy defense has thrown at him.

Defensively Houston has made some adjustments, fronting Griffin and forcing the entry pass to be a lob while relying on the rotation man to slide over. This adjustment helped Houston pull off a series of key stops in Game 2 while keeping Griffin to shooting 2 of 9 from the field in the second half.

Houston has found success offensively when attacking the rim. In Game 1, the Rockets were able to jump out to a strong first quarter off of a handful of second chance points as results of missed layups.

In Game 2, DeAndre Jordan was forced into early foul trouble, picking up two in the first quarter. This was a result of Houston's aggressiveness towards the rim. Attacking the rim forces Jordan to leave Howard to contest the shot which opens up a lob for Dwight. After a series of lobs, Jordan is then reluctant to help which leads to an open layup. Not only does attacking the rim put Jordan in a dilemma, it leads to a higher chance of offensive rebounding for the Rockets an area in which they excelled in.

Historically the Clippers have done a terrific job of defending Harden. Redick is usually the one who guards Harden and funnels him towards Jordan, discouraging Harden to drive and forcing someone else to make a play or Harden to shoot a long jumper.

The Clippers have taken advantage of the Rockets' desire to jack up as many threes as possible by getting out in transition. For the Rockets to be successful offensively, Harden cannot defer against this scheme but instead force the issue against Jordan.

In the three games that Houston has won against the Clippers this year, including the postseason, Harden has averaged 12 attempts at the free-throw line. In the three losses, he's averaged only five.

Houston's success solely relies on whether or not they can match the defensive urgency they showed in the second half of Game 2 and Harden's assertiveness towards the rim.

It'll be interesting to see how this Houston team reacts Friday when they enter Staples Center for Game 3 against a hungry Chris Paul.