HOUSTON (AP) – Kawhi Leonard had 28 points, and Paul George and James Harden each scored 21 as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied for a 122-116 win over the Houston Rockets yesterday.
The Clippers trailed by as many as 20 points and didn’t lead in the second half until there were less than three minutes remaining.
“In the first half it was like we were running in mud,” Clippers’ coach Tyronn Lue said.
“We couldn’t keep up with them. They got out in transition and we just couldn’t get back and get matched. So at halftime we made a strong point about that.”
Los Angeles overcame another big night from Houston big man Alperen Sengun, who had 23 points, a season-high 19 rebounds and 14 assists for his fourth career triple-double.
It came a night after he scored a career-best 45 points in a win over San Antonio. Jabari Smith Jr added 19 points for Houston and rookie Cam Whitmore had 17.
“We guarded well in the first half and didn’t in the second half,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “Credit to them because they do have three really good scorers that can get it going, but you’d like to have a little more resistance or consistency between the two halves.”
