In the Western Conference, where the margins are razor-thin and the standings can flip overnight, every game matters - and every bad stretch can be costly. That’s the reality the Houston Rockets are staring down after a frustrating loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
Coming off a confidence-boosting win over the Denver Nuggets - their first against the defending champs this season - the Rockets were hoping to build some momentum. But that win was sandwiched between two tough losses to the Pelicans and Kings, and Tuesday’s matchup against a full-strength Clippers squad felt like a chance to right the ship. For a quarter, it looked like they might do just that.
Houston came out firing, putting up 35 points in the opening frame on 15-of-23 shooting. They looked sharp, aggressive, and focused.
Defensively, they held the Clippers - with both Kawhi Leonard and James Harden in the lineup - to just 29 points. It was the kind of start you want on the road against a top-tier opponent.
But that was where the good news stopped.
From the second quarter on, the Clippers found their rhythm - and never let it go. Over the final three quarters, L.A. shot a scorching 58% from the field.
They were equally lethal from deep, going 20-of-37 from three (a blistering 54%) and nearly automatic from the line, hitting 24 of 27 free throws. It was a clinic in offensive efficiency, and the Rockets simply couldn’t keep up.
Houston, by comparison, struggled to generate consistent offense. They went just 9-of-30 from beyond the arc and left points at the line, shooting 13-of-18.
The offense bogged down in the halfcourt, with little movement or spacing. Transition opportunities were few and far between - largely because the Rockets couldn’t string together stops.
When they did score, it often came down to isolation plays from Kevin Durant or Alperen Sengun.
Durant had a solid night on paper, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. But he was largely quiet in terms of playmaking, registering just one assist and finishing a -15 in his minutes.
Sengun flirted with a triple-double - 19 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists - but also had 3 turnovers and was a -9 on the floor. Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson added double-digit scoring, but it wasn’t enough to offset the defensive lapses that allowed Kawhi Leonard to pour in 41 points and James Harden to drop 29 with 6 assists.
This wasn’t just a case of running into a hot shooting team - though the Clippers were certainly that. It was a game that exposed some of the Rockets’ recurring issues: defensive breakdowns, stagnant halfcourt sets, and an overreliance on individual shot creation. When the ball stops moving and the defense can’t get stops, it’s a tough formula to win in the West.
After the game, Durant kept things in perspective. “With the expectations on us, it feels like this is bigger than it really is,” he said. “Of course, we want to win every game… we just keep grinding and we might win 5 or 6 or 7 in a row… The sense of urgency is there but we don’t want to feel like this is too big for us to control.”
And he’s right - it’s not time to panic. There’s a lot of basketball left, and this team has the talent to go on a run.
But expectations are part of the deal now. After a 52-win season and a second-place finish in the West, and with Durant now in the fold, the bar has been raised.
Nights like this - especially on a tough road trip - sting more because they’re not supposed to happen as often.
With a Christmas Day showdown against the Lakers up next, the Rockets have a chance to reset and respond. But they’ll need to tighten the screws defensively and find more flow offensively if they want to avoid slipping further in the standings. The West won’t wait for anyone.