Houston (8-4) at LA Clippers (4-5) 9:30 pm CST <u>Houston Rockets Season </u> Record: 8 - 4 ( .667) Standings: Second, Midwest At Home: 5 - 1 On Road: 3 - 3 PPG: 87.8 Opp PPG: 81.5 FG%: .427 Opp FG%: .374 RPG: 43.2 Opp RPG: 41.1 <u>Los Angeles Clippers </u> Record: 4 - 5 ( .444) Standings: Seventh, Pacific At Home: 2 - 1 On Road: 2 - 4 PPG: 98.6 Opp PPG: 102.8 FG%: .418 Opp FG%: .457 RPG: 45.7 Opp RPG: 43. Starters vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. Outlook The key to this game will be how well the Rockets stop Quentin Richardon. He is having a career year averaging 22 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Cuttino Mobley will have his hands full tonight trying to contain Quentin who is as quick as they come and can literally jump of the gym. Another are for the Rockets to focus on is on Corey Maggette. He hasn't been having as good of a year as Quentin however he is still a threat for the Rockets. He comes in averaging 18.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and 3.1 apg. the defensive specialist Jim Jackson, will get the job of guarding Maggette. For the Clippers the gameplan is simple, Stop the down-low game of the Rockets. Chris Wilcox, Predrag Drobnjak, Chris Kaman and Melvin Ely will have to play excellent defense tonight for the Clippers to come out with a victory. Both teams are coming off of losses. The Clippers have lost three straight, the last being against the Timberwolves while the Rockets hope to to win their second game of the West Coast road trip after losing to Portland on Saturday. My star players for tonight will be Steve Francis for the Rockets and none other than Quentin Richardson for the Clippers. Francis is coming off a career low points game against the Portland where they held him to 4 points. He will look to get back on track tonight. Kenyon Dooling just isn't a good enough defender to stop Francis, so look for Stevie to have a high scoring game. Quentin is coming off a 36 point game against the Wolves(career high) and he will look to continue his hot streak. I think Cuttino will be eaten alive by Quentin tonight. He is just to quick for Cuttino to handle.
The Rockets beat the Clippers 105-90. The Clippers got a major doses of Steve Francis as he scored 13 of his 19 points in the 1st half and Cuttino Mobley who scored 15 of his 17 in the second half. The Clippers who were already plaqued by injuries, suffered a huge loss when Quentin Richardson was forced to leave the game with a twisted left ankle in the first quarter. Corey Maggette as expected, had a monster game last night. He lit the Rockets up for 33 points. Key Players <u>Rockets</u> Cuttino Mobley - 17 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists Steve Francis - 19 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 turnovers Yao Ming - 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks Maurice Taylor - 17 points(11 in 4th quarter) <u>Clippers</u> Corey Maggette - 33 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals Predrag Drobnjak - 20 points, 7 rebounds Complete Box Score
