FILE–Marcus Morris Sr. #8 of the Los Angeles Clippers. Chris Coduto/Getty Images/AFP
Marcus Morris Sr. scored 27 points and Luke Kennard added 25 on Thursday as the Los Angeles Clippers went into the All-Star break with a 142-111 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets.
Terance Mann scored 20 points as the Clippers won for the third time in their past four games. Their only setback in that stretch came on the road against the Phoenix Suns, the team with the best record in the NBA.
Jalen Green scored 21 points and Jae’Sean Tate added 19 as the Rockets lost their seventh consecutive game. Christian Wood scored 13 points for Houston, returning from a one-game absence caused by an unspecified illness, while Kevin Porter Jr. missed his second consecutive game, also with an illness.
Ending on a high note.
📼 @honey highlights vs. Houston. pic.twitter.com/yUmGtWQ7lj
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 18, 2022
The Clippers led by 11 points nine minutes into the game and had a 36-27 edge after one quarter. Los Angeles pushed their advantage to 17 in the second quarter and led 71-59 at the break.
Kennard, who is participating in Saturday’s 3-Point Contest at Cleveland, went 6 of 7 from deep in the first half and finished 8 of 9 from 3-point range in the game.
One night after the Rockets had a lead in the final two minutes at Phoenix, only to fall 124-121, they were unable to make a push in the second half. The Clippers had a 107-79 edge after three quarters and cruised to the victory over the final 12 minutes.
Clippers big man Ivica Zubac, who was the early focal point against a Rockets starting lineup that did not have a player over 6-foot-9, wound up with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Reggie Jackson tallied a season-high 14 assists for the Clippers, who shot 18 of 35 (51.4 percent) from 3-point range.
Josh Christopher scored 13 points for the Rockets, while Dennis Schroder had nine points and nine assists in his third game and second start for Houston since arriving last week in a trade from the Boston Celtics.