Having three days off allowed the Clippers to get some much-needed rest and a mental refresh after a slew of tough games.
But the time off didn’t make the Clippers whole.
With team leader James Harden and key role player Amir Coffey unable to play, the Clippers couldn’t keep up with the Houston Rockets in a 117-106 loss Sunday night at the Intuit Dome.
The sore right groin that kept Harden out of his first game this season meant the Clippers didn’t have their second-leading scorer (21.6) and leading rebounder (6.8), assists (8.5) and minutes-played (33.9) man.
“It’s not serious but just had some tightness in his right groin,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said about Harden. “It stemmed from (the) last game (on Wednesday night) as well and so we’re just going to be cautious and make sure we’re doing the right thing and seeing if it’s a little rest and help him out.”
The right shoulder contusion that kept Coffey out his first game of the season meant the Clippers didn’t have their fifth-leading scorer who provided the team with a lift whether he started (seven times) or came off the bench.
Then came news during the first quarter that Derrick Jones was out with right hamstring soreness. Jones, who had two points against the Rockets, was fourth on the team in scoring (10.4) and is one of the team’s best defenders.
The Clippers battled as long as they could behind a double-double from Ivica Zubac (21 points, 12 rebounds), 22 from Bones Hyland off the bench, 19 from Kevin Porter Jr. and 17 from Noman Powell.
But it wasn’t enough to stop the Clippers from losing their second straight game.
Lue said the biggest thing for his group with the downtime was “just to rest and just having a chance to kind of finally exhale after a long stretch like we have.”
