simmytbone
01-19-2016, 02:58 PM
Hey guys,
Martin Luther King Day 2016 will be known as the day 2 teams in the Pacific Division took over the NBA on TNT
The Warriors EMBARRASSES LeBron James and the Cavs in Cleveland while the Clippers def. the Rockets for the 1st time this season in an OVERTIME Thriller
Here are the stories:
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20160118_GS@CLE
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/img25454525_zpsk1fv9qjv.jpg
Golden Statement: Curry, Warriors demolish Cavaliers 132-98
By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
Jan. 18, 2016
CLEVELAND (AP) Stephen Curry didn't smell champagne. Blood was in the air.
Curry scored 35 points in three quarters, Andre Iguodala added 20 and Golden State returned to the arena where it won the NBA championship last season and embarrassed the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-98 on Monday night.
The Warriors built a 30-point lead in the first half, pushed their advantage to 43 after halftime and bounced back from a shocking loss in Detroit over the weekend by winning their fifth straight over Cleveland.
Only a late flurry of points helped the Cavs avoid their worst home loss in franchise history.
''They did what they wanted,'' LeBron James said.
Curry made seven 3-pointers - his last put the Warriors ahead by 40 late in the third quarter - and the reigning league MVP seemed right at home in Quicken Loans Arena, where the Warriors clinched their first title since 1975 last June. On Sunday, Curry said he hoped the visitor's locker room ''still smells a little bit like champagne.''
That aroma had long dissipated, but the Warriors looked thirsty for more bubbly.
Curry downplayed his champagne boast.
''The last time I was there we had a trophy, we had champagne and we had goggles,'' Curry said, recalling last season's Game 6. ''We had a good time.''
With Curry leading the charge, the Warriors overwhelmed the Cavs, who lost at Golden State 89-83 on Christmas Day and could do little to stop the defending champions.
James scored 16 for Cleveland, which just went 5-1 on its longest road trip this season. And like last season's Finals, James didn't have much help. Kyrie Irving had eight points on 3-of-11 shooting and Kevin Love had three points in 21 forgettable minutes.
''I'm not going put too much into it,'' James said. ''Against the top teams, you want to play well and we haven't done that. We're 0-3,'' James said, referring to Cleveland's record against Golden State and San Antonio, the West's top powers. ''We got a long way to go. Tonight was an example of how far we have to go to get to a championship level.''
Even though Cleveland is healthier now than in December, an expected battle between two of the league's best teams never materialized. This one belonged to Golden State from beginning to end.
A frustrating night for the Cavs bubbled over in the third quarter when J.R. Smith lowered his shoulder and charged into Harrison Barnes, flattening the Warriors forward. Smith, who arrived at the arena less than an hour before tip-off, was called for a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected.
Cavs coach David Blatt said he was not aware of Smith's tardiness.
''If that's so, it's not a good thing for sure,'' Blatt said.
Smith was gone when Cleveland's locker room opened for reporters.
Draymond Green added 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Warriors, who rested their starters in the fourth.
Curry quickly reminded an amped-up Cleveland crowd what he did to the Cavs last summer by burying a 3-pointer on his first shot. He made three more long-range shots in the first quarter while the Warriors opened a 34-21 lead.
Golden State was just warming up.
Green's 3-pointer put the Warriors up by 16, and Curry scored a three-point play to give Golden State a 23-point lead.
On Cleveland's next possession, James was backing down in the lane when Curry came up from behind, stripped the ball and went the length of the floor for an easy layup to make it 57-32.
''They definitely played like champions,'' Irving said.
GREEN'S GAME
Before Green entered the NBA, James was confident the former Michigan State star would succeed as a pro.
''I knew one thing: Whatever team got him was going to get a very smart, complete guy,'' James said. ''Any guy who is able to get a triple-double in the college game, that means a lot. He has all the intangibles.''
BLAME GAME
Blatt took responsibility for his team not being prepared.
''We just got beat down,'' he said.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Interim coach Luke Walton has rarely seen his team play better. ''The first three quarters, that's who we know we can be,'' Walton said. ''They were absolutely phenomenal. We can't really ask to play much better than that.'' ... Golden State has won nine of the past 11 in Cleveland. ... The Warriors snapped a two-game road losing streak and improved to 38-4 overall.
Cavaliers: James remains non-committal about playing for the U.S. men's Olympic team in Rio this summer. James, Irving and Love were among 30 finalists chosen to try out. ''I'm not any inch closer to playing or not any inch closer to not playing,'' said James, who has won two gold medals. ... Cleveland's worst home loss came against Chicago in 2012, a 39-point drubbing.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Chicago on Wednesday night.
Cavaliers: At Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer/ken-berger/25454408/nothing-says-cavs-arent-ready-for-the-elite-like-kevin-loves-disappearance
Nothing says Cavs aren't ready for the elite like Kevin Love's disappearance
January 19, 2016 11:38 am ET
All through the NBA Finals, one of those seemingly incontrovertible basketball truths loomed over the Cleveland Cavaliers. With LeBron James asserting himself as the most dominant force on the floor game after game, the temptation was overwhelming to wonder, "What if?"
What if Kelly Olynyk hadn't pulled Kevin Love's shoulder out of its socket in the clinching game of Cleveland's first-round series against Boston? And what if Kyrie Irving hadn't fractured his kneecap late in Game 1 of the Finals against Golden State?
Well, after the defending champs went nuclear against a fully healthy Cavs team on Monday night in Cleveland, to the tune of a 132-98 annihilation at the scene of their championship-clinching Game 6 victory in June, the Warriors delivered the answer.
And it's a troubling truth for the Cavs.
As Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal tells us, Love has been ineffective in Cleveland's two losses to Golden State this season -- Monday night's blowout and the 89-83 loss on Christmas Day that was more Cleveland's pace and tempo. In the two losses, Love has scored a grand total of 13 points on 6-for-21 shooting, including 1-for-8 from the 3-point line. It turns out that a stationary 3-point shooter who isn't a threat to drive isn't much of a problem for the Warriors' long, active, athletic defense. Who knew?
What's more troubling to the Cavs has been Love's decline in production since Irving returned to the lineup. Love was averaging 17.6 points on 43 percent shooting without Irving this season, and 13.4 points on 37 percent shooting since he returned.
Defensively? On Monday night, there was this. I mean, come on.
Then, there was also this cryptic postgame comment from Love, which I wasn't there to witness, digest or discuss with the involved parties, but which nonetheless warrants a "make of it what you will" mention.
“We got beat up on our home floor," Love told reporters. "I think a lot of things went wrong, a lot of things we need to clean up in our preparation, but I think they're the better team right now. We have a lot of things to get better at. That's going to take a lot of guys looking themselves in the mirror and it all starts with our leader over there and dwindles on down.”
Our leader over there? Maybe Love's odd choice of words meant something, and maybe it didn't. But when it comes to how the Cavs are performing against the NBA's elite teams, you really don't need to do much reading between the lines.
They played the Spurs tough and close last week, then lost in San Antonio just as every other Spurs opponent has this season. Their Christmas Day loss in Oakland was respectable, and Irving had only recently returned from his knee injury. Love was 5-for-16 in that one, but did make an impact with 18 rebounds.
They lost to the Bulls on opening night without Irving, and will face Chicago again on Saturday; this time, the Bulls will be without Joakim Noah, who is out 4-6 months with a shoulder injury. They beat Oklahoma City and will see the Thunder and Spurs again, the Bulls three more times and the Clippers twice.
As with most things in the NBA in January, the Cavs' wherewithal to compete with elite teams is incomplete -- but as James pointed out Monday night, clearly in need of improvement.
"Tonight was an example of how far we have to go to be a championship team," James said.
What can they do to get there? Figuring out how to get production out of Love and Irving at the same time would be a start. So would getting J.R. Smith to show up for the game on time and not get ejected for a flagrant-2.
A roster move? With word circulating through the NBA that the Cavs are open to trading Timofey Mozgov, the purpose there would be to get more versatile and athletic defensively. The Suns are trying to unload Markieff Morris, and the Cavs' players are open to it -- though the front office may not share that enthusiasm. Morris could be absorbed into Cleveland's $10.5 million trade exception, though owner Dan Gilbert would have to absorb the additional luxury-tax bill, which already stands at $65 million.
Against the Warriors and teams that play similar styles, it could be sensible to play smaller, maybe even with Love at the five to minimize how many pick-and-rolls he's targeted in defensively. But remember, before the Cavs can think about facing the Warriors or Spurs in the Finals, they have to get there first. And as much as the East has changed, a traditional lineup with a rim protector like Mozgov might be the best formula for that. A big, expensive roster shakeup could wind up backfiring.
In the end, the Cavs certainly have issues -- just as every team in the NBA other than the Warriors and Spurs have. So far, when they've peered into the mirror after losses to the elite, it's been unsightly, to say the least. They might still be viewed as the class of the East, but the reality is, they're 2-5 against the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, Bulls and Raptors.
They have three months to ultimately figure it out, and roughly a month before the trade deadline, by which time they'll have to determine if they can fulfill their championship mandate with what they have.
Whatever the Cavs decide, it's pretty clear that throwing the same old, same old at the Warriors in June and expecting a different result would be the very definition of insanity. So, too, frankly, would be assuming that the rematch itself is a foregone conclusion.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20160118_HOU@LAC
Redick's career-high 40 help Clippers beat Rockets in OT
By JOE RESNICK
Associated Press
Jan. 19, 2016
LOS ANGELES (AP) J.J. Redick was getting tired of the Los Angeles Clippers losing to the Houston Rockets, so he finally took matters into his own sharp-shooting hands - with plenty of help from Chris Paul, of course.
Redick scored a career-high 40 points and the Clippers made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in a 140-132 overtime win against the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
The Rockets eliminated the Clippers from the playoffs last year, winning in seven games after trailing three games to one in the second round. They also won the first two meetings this season.
''I think I take most losses personally, not just to the Rockets,'' Redick said. ''But going back to last year, we had lost five in a row. C.P. and I talked earlier today just about how frustrating it's been. They're a team that thinks they're better than us, and rightfully so given the results over the past season and a half. So it was important tonight for us to hit them first and be more aggressive from the start.''
Redick connected on his first five attempts behind the arc and finished 9 for 12 on 3-pointers, tying Caron Butler's club record for 3s and coming within three makes of the NBA single-game record shared by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall.
''It was one of those games where neither team could get a stop, and there were several players that were the beneficiary of that - myself included,'' Redick said.
Redick set a franchise single-season record for 3-pointers in 2014-15 with 200. He has 103 at the midway point of this season.
Paul had 28 points and 12 assists for the Clippers, whose season-best 10-game winning streak ended Saturday night with a 110-103 home loss to Sacramento. Paul, Redick and Jamal Crawford each made 3-pointers while the Clippers opened overtime on a 9-2 run.
Dwight Howard had 36 points and tied a career high with 26 rebounds en route to his 10th straight double-double, the league's longest active streak, and his longest since a 14-game run three seasons ago. He secured it before halftime with 13 points and 15 boards.
Houston native DeAndre Jordan was back in the lineup for Los Angeles and had 16 points and 15 rebounds in 41 minutes for his ninth straight double-double. He missed two games with pneumonia that ended his consecutive game streak at 360.
Howard, a career 57.1 percent free-throw shooter coming in, delighted the sellout crowd by throwing up an air ball from the line in the second quarter, but he finished an uncharacteristic 14 for 18. James Harden, the league's No. 2 scorer, had 20 points and Marcus Thornton had 23 points and five 3-pointers.
After Redick converted two free throws with 16.4 seconds left in regulation for a 118-114 lead, Marcus Thornton made a 3-pointer at the other end with 14.4 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game.
Redick made two more free throws, but Thornton came back with a 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left to tie it. Paul missed a 3 at the buzzer.
''We knew we were going to find our rhythm. It was just about making it happen,'' Harden said. ''I think if we would have found it a little bit earlier, we would have been in a better situation. I'm just proud of our guys and the way they fought back. Marcus made some big shots.''
Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers sat all of his starters at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a 94-80 lead, and the Rockets sliced the margin to 102-96 with 7:13 to play. Thornton capped the rally with a 3-pointer, forcing Redick and Jordan to join Paul back on the floor.
''Our execution on the last couple of plays that let them have 3s was poor,'' Rivers said. ''But what I liked was that everyone was furious going into overtime. We got our composure back and played well.''
TIP-INS
Rockets: Houston led the league in 3-point defense last year at 32.2 percent and was limiting opponents to 34.9 percent this season. The Clippers were 15 of 60 from behind the arc in two previous meetings with the Rockets this season. ... The Rockets had won their previous 11 overtime games since losing at Golden State on Feb. 20, 2014. ... Point guard Patrick Beverley was back in the starting lineup for Houston and played 16 scoreless minutes after missing a 112-95 victory Sunday night over the Lakers because of a sprained left ankle.
Clippers: Paul got a technical foul with 3:10 left in the second quarter after he was called for an offensive foul while attempting a 3-pointer that missed. The Clippers lead the league with 24 technicals, not counting defensive 3-second violations. ... Jordan and Howard are among three players in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding average and field goal percentage in the same season. The other is Wilt Chamberlain.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Host Detroit on Wednesday night.
Clippers: At Cleveland on Thursday night.
credit: cbssports.com
Martin Luther King Day 2016 will be known as the day 2 teams in the Pacific Division took over the NBA on TNT
The Warriors EMBARRASSES LeBron James and the Cavs in Cleveland while the Clippers def. the Rockets for the 1st time this season in an OVERTIME Thriller
Here are the stories:
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20160118_GS@CLE
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/img25454525_zpsk1fv9qjv.jpg
Golden Statement: Curry, Warriors demolish Cavaliers 132-98
By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
Jan. 18, 2016
CLEVELAND (AP) Stephen Curry didn't smell champagne. Blood was in the air.
Curry scored 35 points in three quarters, Andre Iguodala added 20 and Golden State returned to the arena where it won the NBA championship last season and embarrassed the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-98 on Monday night.
The Warriors built a 30-point lead in the first half, pushed their advantage to 43 after halftime and bounced back from a shocking loss in Detroit over the weekend by winning their fifth straight over Cleveland.
Only a late flurry of points helped the Cavs avoid their worst home loss in franchise history.
''They did what they wanted,'' LeBron James said.
Curry made seven 3-pointers - his last put the Warriors ahead by 40 late in the third quarter - and the reigning league MVP seemed right at home in Quicken Loans Arena, where the Warriors clinched their first title since 1975 last June. On Sunday, Curry said he hoped the visitor's locker room ''still smells a little bit like champagne.''
That aroma had long dissipated, but the Warriors looked thirsty for more bubbly.
Curry downplayed his champagne boast.
''The last time I was there we had a trophy, we had champagne and we had goggles,'' Curry said, recalling last season's Game 6. ''We had a good time.''
With Curry leading the charge, the Warriors overwhelmed the Cavs, who lost at Golden State 89-83 on Christmas Day and could do little to stop the defending champions.
James scored 16 for Cleveland, which just went 5-1 on its longest road trip this season. And like last season's Finals, James didn't have much help. Kyrie Irving had eight points on 3-of-11 shooting and Kevin Love had three points in 21 forgettable minutes.
''I'm not going put too much into it,'' James said. ''Against the top teams, you want to play well and we haven't done that. We're 0-3,'' James said, referring to Cleveland's record against Golden State and San Antonio, the West's top powers. ''We got a long way to go. Tonight was an example of how far we have to go to get to a championship level.''
Even though Cleveland is healthier now than in December, an expected battle between two of the league's best teams never materialized. This one belonged to Golden State from beginning to end.
A frustrating night for the Cavs bubbled over in the third quarter when J.R. Smith lowered his shoulder and charged into Harrison Barnes, flattening the Warriors forward. Smith, who arrived at the arena less than an hour before tip-off, was called for a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected.
Cavs coach David Blatt said he was not aware of Smith's tardiness.
''If that's so, it's not a good thing for sure,'' Blatt said.
Smith was gone when Cleveland's locker room opened for reporters.
Draymond Green added 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Warriors, who rested their starters in the fourth.
Curry quickly reminded an amped-up Cleveland crowd what he did to the Cavs last summer by burying a 3-pointer on his first shot. He made three more long-range shots in the first quarter while the Warriors opened a 34-21 lead.
Golden State was just warming up.
Green's 3-pointer put the Warriors up by 16, and Curry scored a three-point play to give Golden State a 23-point lead.
On Cleveland's next possession, James was backing down in the lane when Curry came up from behind, stripped the ball and went the length of the floor for an easy layup to make it 57-32.
''They definitely played like champions,'' Irving said.
GREEN'S GAME
Before Green entered the NBA, James was confident the former Michigan State star would succeed as a pro.
''I knew one thing: Whatever team got him was going to get a very smart, complete guy,'' James said. ''Any guy who is able to get a triple-double in the college game, that means a lot. He has all the intangibles.''
BLAME GAME
Blatt took responsibility for his team not being prepared.
''We just got beat down,'' he said.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Interim coach Luke Walton has rarely seen his team play better. ''The first three quarters, that's who we know we can be,'' Walton said. ''They were absolutely phenomenal. We can't really ask to play much better than that.'' ... Golden State has won nine of the past 11 in Cleveland. ... The Warriors snapped a two-game road losing streak and improved to 38-4 overall.
Cavaliers: James remains non-committal about playing for the U.S. men's Olympic team in Rio this summer. James, Irving and Love were among 30 finalists chosen to try out. ''I'm not any inch closer to playing or not any inch closer to not playing,'' said James, who has won two gold medals. ... Cleveland's worst home loss came against Chicago in 2012, a 39-point drubbing.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Chicago on Wednesday night.
Cavaliers: At Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer/ken-berger/25454408/nothing-says-cavs-arent-ready-for-the-elite-like-kevin-loves-disappearance
Nothing says Cavs aren't ready for the elite like Kevin Love's disappearance
January 19, 2016 11:38 am ET
All through the NBA Finals, one of those seemingly incontrovertible basketball truths loomed over the Cleveland Cavaliers. With LeBron James asserting himself as the most dominant force on the floor game after game, the temptation was overwhelming to wonder, "What if?"
What if Kelly Olynyk hadn't pulled Kevin Love's shoulder out of its socket in the clinching game of Cleveland's first-round series against Boston? And what if Kyrie Irving hadn't fractured his kneecap late in Game 1 of the Finals against Golden State?
Well, after the defending champs went nuclear against a fully healthy Cavs team on Monday night in Cleveland, to the tune of a 132-98 annihilation at the scene of their championship-clinching Game 6 victory in June, the Warriors delivered the answer.
And it's a troubling truth for the Cavs.
As Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal tells us, Love has been ineffective in Cleveland's two losses to Golden State this season -- Monday night's blowout and the 89-83 loss on Christmas Day that was more Cleveland's pace and tempo. In the two losses, Love has scored a grand total of 13 points on 6-for-21 shooting, including 1-for-8 from the 3-point line. It turns out that a stationary 3-point shooter who isn't a threat to drive isn't much of a problem for the Warriors' long, active, athletic defense. Who knew?
What's more troubling to the Cavs has been Love's decline in production since Irving returned to the lineup. Love was averaging 17.6 points on 43 percent shooting without Irving this season, and 13.4 points on 37 percent shooting since he returned.
Defensively? On Monday night, there was this. I mean, come on.
Then, there was also this cryptic postgame comment from Love, which I wasn't there to witness, digest or discuss with the involved parties, but which nonetheless warrants a "make of it what you will" mention.
“We got beat up on our home floor," Love told reporters. "I think a lot of things went wrong, a lot of things we need to clean up in our preparation, but I think they're the better team right now. We have a lot of things to get better at. That's going to take a lot of guys looking themselves in the mirror and it all starts with our leader over there and dwindles on down.”
Our leader over there? Maybe Love's odd choice of words meant something, and maybe it didn't. But when it comes to how the Cavs are performing against the NBA's elite teams, you really don't need to do much reading between the lines.
They played the Spurs tough and close last week, then lost in San Antonio just as every other Spurs opponent has this season. Their Christmas Day loss in Oakland was respectable, and Irving had only recently returned from his knee injury. Love was 5-for-16 in that one, but did make an impact with 18 rebounds.
They lost to the Bulls on opening night without Irving, and will face Chicago again on Saturday; this time, the Bulls will be without Joakim Noah, who is out 4-6 months with a shoulder injury. They beat Oklahoma City and will see the Thunder and Spurs again, the Bulls three more times and the Clippers twice.
As with most things in the NBA in January, the Cavs' wherewithal to compete with elite teams is incomplete -- but as James pointed out Monday night, clearly in need of improvement.
"Tonight was an example of how far we have to go to be a championship team," James said.
What can they do to get there? Figuring out how to get production out of Love and Irving at the same time would be a start. So would getting J.R. Smith to show up for the game on time and not get ejected for a flagrant-2.
A roster move? With word circulating through the NBA that the Cavs are open to trading Timofey Mozgov, the purpose there would be to get more versatile and athletic defensively. The Suns are trying to unload Markieff Morris, and the Cavs' players are open to it -- though the front office may not share that enthusiasm. Morris could be absorbed into Cleveland's $10.5 million trade exception, though owner Dan Gilbert would have to absorb the additional luxury-tax bill, which already stands at $65 million.
Against the Warriors and teams that play similar styles, it could be sensible to play smaller, maybe even with Love at the five to minimize how many pick-and-rolls he's targeted in defensively. But remember, before the Cavs can think about facing the Warriors or Spurs in the Finals, they have to get there first. And as much as the East has changed, a traditional lineup with a rim protector like Mozgov might be the best formula for that. A big, expensive roster shakeup could wind up backfiring.
In the end, the Cavs certainly have issues -- just as every team in the NBA other than the Warriors and Spurs have. So far, when they've peered into the mirror after losses to the elite, it's been unsightly, to say the least. They might still be viewed as the class of the East, but the reality is, they're 2-5 against the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, Bulls and Raptors.
They have three months to ultimately figure it out, and roughly a month before the trade deadline, by which time they'll have to determine if they can fulfill their championship mandate with what they have.
Whatever the Cavs decide, it's pretty clear that throwing the same old, same old at the Warriors in June and expecting a different result would be the very definition of insanity. So, too, frankly, would be assuming that the rematch itself is a foregone conclusion.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20160118_HOU@LAC
Redick's career-high 40 help Clippers beat Rockets in OT
By JOE RESNICK
Associated Press
Jan. 19, 2016
LOS ANGELES (AP) J.J. Redick was getting tired of the Los Angeles Clippers losing to the Houston Rockets, so he finally took matters into his own sharp-shooting hands - with plenty of help from Chris Paul, of course.
Redick scored a career-high 40 points and the Clippers made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in a 140-132 overtime win against the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
The Rockets eliminated the Clippers from the playoffs last year, winning in seven games after trailing three games to one in the second round. They also won the first two meetings this season.
''I think I take most losses personally, not just to the Rockets,'' Redick said. ''But going back to last year, we had lost five in a row. C.P. and I talked earlier today just about how frustrating it's been. They're a team that thinks they're better than us, and rightfully so given the results over the past season and a half. So it was important tonight for us to hit them first and be more aggressive from the start.''
Redick connected on his first five attempts behind the arc and finished 9 for 12 on 3-pointers, tying Caron Butler's club record for 3s and coming within three makes of the NBA single-game record shared by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall.
''It was one of those games where neither team could get a stop, and there were several players that were the beneficiary of that - myself included,'' Redick said.
Redick set a franchise single-season record for 3-pointers in 2014-15 with 200. He has 103 at the midway point of this season.
Paul had 28 points and 12 assists for the Clippers, whose season-best 10-game winning streak ended Saturday night with a 110-103 home loss to Sacramento. Paul, Redick and Jamal Crawford each made 3-pointers while the Clippers opened overtime on a 9-2 run.
Dwight Howard had 36 points and tied a career high with 26 rebounds en route to his 10th straight double-double, the league's longest active streak, and his longest since a 14-game run three seasons ago. He secured it before halftime with 13 points and 15 boards.
Houston native DeAndre Jordan was back in the lineup for Los Angeles and had 16 points and 15 rebounds in 41 minutes for his ninth straight double-double. He missed two games with pneumonia that ended his consecutive game streak at 360.
Howard, a career 57.1 percent free-throw shooter coming in, delighted the sellout crowd by throwing up an air ball from the line in the second quarter, but he finished an uncharacteristic 14 for 18. James Harden, the league's No. 2 scorer, had 20 points and Marcus Thornton had 23 points and five 3-pointers.
After Redick converted two free throws with 16.4 seconds left in regulation for a 118-114 lead, Marcus Thornton made a 3-pointer at the other end with 14.4 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game.
Redick made two more free throws, but Thornton came back with a 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left to tie it. Paul missed a 3 at the buzzer.
''We knew we were going to find our rhythm. It was just about making it happen,'' Harden said. ''I think if we would have found it a little bit earlier, we would have been in a better situation. I'm just proud of our guys and the way they fought back. Marcus made some big shots.''
Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers sat all of his starters at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a 94-80 lead, and the Rockets sliced the margin to 102-96 with 7:13 to play. Thornton capped the rally with a 3-pointer, forcing Redick and Jordan to join Paul back on the floor.
''Our execution on the last couple of plays that let them have 3s was poor,'' Rivers said. ''But what I liked was that everyone was furious going into overtime. We got our composure back and played well.''
TIP-INS
Rockets: Houston led the league in 3-point defense last year at 32.2 percent and was limiting opponents to 34.9 percent this season. The Clippers were 15 of 60 from behind the arc in two previous meetings with the Rockets this season. ... The Rockets had won their previous 11 overtime games since losing at Golden State on Feb. 20, 2014. ... Point guard Patrick Beverley was back in the starting lineup for Houston and played 16 scoreless minutes after missing a 112-95 victory Sunday night over the Lakers because of a sprained left ankle.
Clippers: Paul got a technical foul with 3:10 left in the second quarter after he was called for an offensive foul while attempting a 3-pointer that missed. The Clippers lead the league with 24 technicals, not counting defensive 3-second violations. ... Jordan and Howard are among three players in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding average and field goal percentage in the same season. The other is Wilt Chamberlain.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Host Detroit on Wednesday night.
Clippers: At Cleveland on Thursday night.
credit: cbssports.com