Clippers roll over Rockets for a bounce-back win / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports Credit Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Morris Sr. scored 27 points and Luke Kennard added 25 as the Los Angeles Clippers went into the All-Star break with a 142-111 victory Thursday over the visiting Houston Rockets.

Terance Mann scored 20 points as the Clippers won for the third time in their last four games with only a road loss in that stretch to the Phoenix Suns, the team with the best record in the NBA.

Jalen Green scored 21 points and Jae'Sean Tate added 19 as the Rockets lost their seventh consecutive game. Christian Wood scored 13 points for Houston, returning from a one-game absence because of an unspecified illness, while Kevin Porter Jr. missed his second consecutive game, also with an illness.

The Clippers led by 11 points nine minutes into the game and had a 36-27 lead after one quarter. Los Angeles pushed their advantage to 17 in the second quarter and led 71-59 at the break.

Kennard, who is participating in Saturday's 3-Point Contest at Cleveland, went 6 of 7 from deep in the first half and finished 8 of 9 from 3-point range in the game.

One night after the Rockets had the lead in the final minute at Phoenix, only to fall 124-121, they were unable to make a push in the second half. The Clippers had a 107-79 lead after three quarters and cruised to the victory over the final 12 minutes.

Clippers big man Ivica Zubac, who was the early focal point against a Rockets starting lineup that did not have a player over 6-foot-9, had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Jackson tallied a season-high 14 assists for the Clippers, who shot 18 of 35 (51.4 percent) from 3-point range.

Josh Christopher also had 13 points for the Rockets, while Dennis Schroder had nine points and nine assists in his third game and second start for Houston since arriving last week in a trade from the Boston Celtics.

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