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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
HOUSTON (AP) -- A game against the Houston Rockets soothed the Los Angeles Clippers' frayed nerves.
Lamar Odom scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half as the Clippers snapped their season-high nine-game losing streak with a 101-84 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
"It's huge for us," Los Angeles coach Alvin Gentry said. "When you're losing, everybody's irritated and the tempers are short. We needed anything positive that would show us that we're still a good team.
"Three games during the losing streak we should have won, but we
didn't and that put us in the tailspin."
The Clippers beat the Rockets for the second time this season and won for the first time in Houston since Jan. 4, 1997. Los Angeles had lost seven straight in Houston.
Houston guard Steve Francis didn't show up for the game until halftime due to personal reasons.
"It's a big win for us," Odom said. "It would have been a long trip (home) if we hadn't won tonight. It's a burden off our shoulders. Every day people told us how long the losing streak was. Hopefully this is the start of something big."
Eric Piatkowski had 15 points, Jeff McInnis 14, Corey Maggette 11 and Keyon Dooling 10 for the Clippers.
"I'm surprised (we won this big)," said Piatkowski. "They
missed Steve Francis in the first half and we knew in the second
half they would try to get back in the game. The first five minutes
of the third quarter, we broke their backs."
Gentry pointed to Los Angeles' 52 percent shooting.
"The difference is we made shots tonight," he said. "In the
NBA, you've got to make shots and score points. When you shoot in
the low 30s you're not going to win. Tonight we made shots."
The Rockets, who have lost two straight and five of their last
seven, were in shock.
"Maybe the last two minutes of the game we had a couple of aggressive plays," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "But the rest of the game, the guys were just not there.
"We can't put it on autopilot and expect to win. The guys have
to get dirty. We were horrible on the break tonight."
Francis, who scored seven of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, was unhappy with the Rockets' effort and didn't blame fans for booing at the end of the game.
"I'd do the same thing if I paid to see professional players
who played like this," Francis said. "Guys just don't seem to
care about it. We got our butts whipped by a younger team tonight
and some guys just didn't seem to care.
"If I was a fan, I wouldn't come to any of our games."
Hakeem Olajuwon said the effort wasn't lacking.
"It was terrible," Olajuwon said. "It was one of the worst in my (17-year) career. There's no explanation for this one. But we have to stay positive and make sure this doesn't happen again.
"I don't think (his teammates) don't care. Everybody is trying across the board. We have to just forget this and recommit ourselves."
Former Clipper Maurice Taylor scored 16 points, and Cuttino
Mobley and Walt Williams each had 13.
Houston shot 26 percent (6-of-23) in the first quarter and shot
0-for-12 in a 7:19 stretch.
The Clippers went on a 13-2 run in that span and led by as many
as 12 points. Los Angeles led 22-14 after one period.
Houston shot 8-for-14 (57 percent) in the second quarter but
never got closer than eight points. The Clippers shot 50 percent in
the first half and led 50-36 at halftime.
McInnis had nine points in the first half, while Piatkowski and
Dooling each had eight.
Francis started the second half, but his presence didn't seem to
matter as the Clippers built their lead to 24 points in the third
quarter.
Odom, who scored 10 points in the third quarter, scored five of
the Clippers' first seven points in the fourth, as they increased
the lead to 27.
Francis scored seven points in the fourth period, but Houston got no closer than 16 points.
Game notes
Francis went home to Maryland after the Rockets' home game
Tuesday against Miami. Thursday, he informed the club he would be
late for the game due to personal reasons. Club officials said the
absence was excused and Francis would not be fined. ... Moochie
Norris got his sixth career start in place of Francis. ... Houston
remains the only team with a winning road record (12-11) and losing
home record (10-13) ... The Clippers' bench averages a league-best
37.4 points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Clippers Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 90
Cleveland 81
Dallas 95
Miami 91
Philadelphia 87
New York 80
LA Clippers 101
Houston 84
Utah 87
Charlotte 76
Portland 100
Phoenix 92
Seattle 97
Chicago 91
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Rudy Tomjanovich Official Site
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