The Los Angeles Clippers cruised past the Houston Rockets 128-108 on Tuesday at the Intuit Dome, fueled by Kawhi Leonard’s 41 points and James Harden’s 29. Head coach Tyronn Lue praised his team’s response to recent challenges, saying, “It was good… outside that first quarter, I thought defensively we were really locked in… we took care of the basketball and did a good job of moving the basketball, making quick decisions.”
Lue highlighted the Clippers’ physicality despite facing a bigger Houston lineup. “We know they were bigger than we were, but we had to hit… pursue the basketball with our quickness and our speed… that’s who we got to be every night,” he said.
Leonard’s dominance drew attention, and Lue explained, “His work this summer on off-the-dribble threes… more pin downs, more wide screens… he’s been able to knock that down.” Harden’s leadership was also noted: “If we’re going to get out of this situation, it’s going to take all of us… it starts with those two. They responded the last couple of games.”
The coach praised role players stepping up, including John Collins and Kobe Sanders, who were perfect from three. “JC wants to learn… he’s getting more comfortable… Kobe coming out of a shooting slump… having the confidence as a young player to step up and continue to take those shots,” Lue said.
Lue also highlighted minutes from Brook Lopez and Yanic Konan Niederhauser. “Yanic is a young player… he really did a good job… offensively just running the floor, setting screens, getting behind the defense… Brook’s ability to stretch the floor and protect the rim… to block shots,” he said.
On mental toughness and team habits, Lue added, “Just buying in… hitting a rough patch, ups and downs, losing close games… just staying the course. Kawhi and James… a lot of credit for that.” He also noted the team’s execution in the third quarter, their best of the game: “We understand that we haven’t been great in third quarters… having an attack mentality… I thought they did that tonight.”
The Clippers improved to 8-21 with the victory, their second straight win, while the Rockets dropped to 17-10. Los Angeles shot 55% overall and 54% from deep, limiting Houston to 30% from three-point range. Leonard scored 18 first-half points and added 23 in the second, while Harden made 12 of 13 free throws. Role players John Collins and Sanders contributed 13 points each, helping maintain a balanced attack.
