Missed transition opportunities and cold shooting doomed the Clippers.
The Los Angeles Clippers fell to the Houston Rockets 102-95 on Tuesday night at Toyota Center, and it was a tough pill to swallow for a team that was trying to build momentum heading into the All-Star break.
The Clippers came out and competed, but a rough night from beyond the arc and too many wasted opportunities in the open court left them short.
Los Angeles shot just 8-for-30 from three-point range on the night, which was a far cry from the 20 threes they hit in their 128-108 win over Houston back in December.
With the loss, the Clippers drop to 25-28 on the season, while the Rockets improve to 33-19.
Lue Points to Missed Transition Chances
After the game, head coach Tyronn Lue was honest about what cost his team and pointed to a few key moments that could have changed the outcome.
"Just tough. I thought we played hard; we just didn't capitalize on a few things," Lue said. "We had some transition possessions, we're three on one, two on ones, and we didn't capitalize on, which put us in some tough positions. You got to convert those, especially against a good team and a good defensive team as well."
Houston led by six heading into the fourth quarter and then opened the period on a 7-0 run to push the lead to 85-72 with about 10 minutes left.
Kevin Durant, who finished with 26 points, came up with a steal on Brook Lopez and Reed Sheppard knocked down a tough three to make it 92-77, which essentially put the game away.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 24 points, but it was not the same kind of dominant showing that fans have seen during his All-Star caliber season.
Leonard is averaging 28.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game this year and has been carrying the load even more since the team moved James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline last week.
New Faces Getting Their Feet Wet
The Clippers' revamped roster got its first look on Tuesday, as Bennedict Mathurin suited up for the first time since being acquired from the Indiana Pacers.
Mathurin finished with nine points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
A solid debut for the 23-year-old wing who was averaging 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game with Indiana before the deal.
It was far from a perfect night, but getting Mathurin acclimated and into the flow of Lue's system is the bigger picture here.
Darius Garland, who came over from Cleveland in the Harden trade, remains out with a toe injury and is not expected to return until after the All-Star break.
Once Garland is healthy and plugged in alongside Leonard and Mathurin, the Clippers will have a much better idea of what this new-look roster can be going forward.
The two teams will run it back on Wednesday night in Houston for the final game before the All-Star break, and the Clippers will look to even up the season series at two games apiece.