With James Harden and Amir Coffey out, Clippers struggle in loss to Rockets

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Clippers guard Jordan Miller, right, shoots in front of Houston Rockets center Steven Adams during the first half of the Clippers’ 117-106 loss Sunday night. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

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.

“Overall, I thought we did a good job,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I thought we competed. Like I said, we scrapped. So, every night we step on the floor we got to make it tough for guys to play against us, and I thought we did that for the most part.”

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 their leader in rebounds (6.8), assists (8.5) and minutes-played (33.9).

Read more: Clippers still don’t have a time frame for Kawhi Leonard’s return

The Clippers have four days off before they play at Denver on Friday night. The hope is Harden will be back by then.

“It’s not serious but just had some tightness in his right groin,” 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 of his first game of the season meant the Clippers didn’t have their fifth-leading scorer to provide them a lift. Coffey sustained the injury during pregame warmups.

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.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Jones said. “I’ll be all right. Just got a little tight.”

The Clippers battled as long as they could behind a double-double from Ivica Zubac (21 points, 12…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/james-harden-amir-coffey-clippers-045159761.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-12-09 04:51:00

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