At noon on February 18, 2022, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a showdown in the West, and the Clippers faced the Rockets. As a result, the Clippers beat the Rockets 36-27, 35-32, 36-20, 35-32, respectively, with an aggregate score of 142-111. In this game, Morris scored a game-high 27 points. The Rockets were all-in-one, and the game was also the biggest point difference since the two teams met.
Before the game, the Clippers were 8th in the West with a record of 29 wins and 31 losses, and the Rockets were 15th in the West with a record of 15 wins and 42 losses. The two teams have won 4 and lost 4 in the previous 8 meetings, and are evenly divided. However, in the most recent meeting, the Rockets narrowly defeated the Clippers 122-115 at home.
Judging by their recent form, the Clippers have been in decent shape lately, losing to the leader Suns in the last round after winning two straight games and losing the game at a slight 96-103 margin. The Rockets, on the other hand, currently have only one in 11 games left and have recently suffered six consecutive defeats.
Let's take a look at the starting lineups of both teams, the Rockets starters: Matthews, Tate, Wood, Jaylen Green, Schroder; Clippers: Batum, Morris, Zubac, Mann, Reggie.
In the first quarter, Rockets forward Wood and Clippers center Zubac jumped the ball and Matthews missed a three-point shot. With Morris and Jackson playing well, the first Clippers scored 36-27.
In the second quarter of the game, the Rockets' Wood and Green tried to score through the inside, and also received relatively good results, but the Rockets did too poorly on the defensive end to basically not limit Morris's offense well, including in rebounding, and not enough restrictions on Zubac. At the end of the final half, the Clippers went 35-32, and the total score came to 71-59.
In the third quarter, the Rockets seemed to have lost their desire to win, with Green and Wood playing sluggishly, not to mention others. As a result, in the third quarter, the Clippers led 36-20, 107-79 on aggregate.
In the fourth quarter, considering that the point difference has reached more than 30 points, the Clippers slowed down the rhythm of the offense, and the Rockets' Wood was also replaced, and the Rockets have completely abandoned the game psychologically. In the end, the fourth quarter score was 35-32, the total score was 142-111, and the Rockets lost to the Clippers.
In this game, the Rockets also set a record of 3 major humiliations. First, the Rockets have lost seven straight games since Feb. 5, and six straight away games; second, the first three quarters are 29 points behind their opponents, which is the worst game the Rockets have played this season and has created the most humiliating record for the point difference in the first three quarters. Third, the Rockets conceded 142 points in this game, becoming the most points lost in a single game in 2022.