Games Three and Four
Posted by Axel Gomez April 24, 2011
Los Angeles, CA - What started as an atrocious series in Houston seems to be ending an atrocious series in Los Angeles. The Clippers appear to be incapable of being able to run their offense past the Rockets' defense, which is suffocating them to the point of coughing the ball up, and shooting poorly from the field. The Clippers had 15 turnovers; and 10 of them came from one player, Mo Williams. Williams' ball handling for the game was atrocious to say the least, as the Rockets benefited from 13 steals. Top that with their inability to make shots, and that gave this game a score of 112-87.
It started with Aaron Brooks' excellent first half. Brooks had 15 first half points to lead all scorers at that point. He finished with 17, but what was a mediocre start to the playoffs has jump-started for him.
The next biggest reason for LA's inability to keep up with the Rockets was Blake Griffin. Griffin had a meager 11 points on 4/15 shooting after having great shooting nights in Games One and Two. The double-team worked wonders for the Rockets, as they would trap Griffin and shut down his passing lanes, forcing him to difficult and contested jumpers. Also, Randy Foye has not been able to compensate for Eric Gordon's absence. True, Foye did have a decent 17 points, but he did it on 6/20 shooting from the field. "The open jumpshots are just not falling for us. We've all had decent looks, but they are just not falling. Next game is possibly our last chance to get our offense straight," the young guard said.
The offense of the Clippers appeared to have clicked in the fourth quarter, thanks to the explosion of Mo Williams. Williams scored 16 of his 27 in the final period, and despite the turnovers, he shot 11/22 from the field and 3/7 from deep. However, his performance was overshadowed by Kevin Martin's short 15-point rampage. Martin scored 15 of his 34 in the fourth, taking LA's small guards to school on the low block, just stomping holes all over them and the Clippers' D. Head coach Rick Adelman had to switch him out of the game to show some sportsmanship, as the lead remained 20+ almost the entire quarter.
"Really, when Martin is in full-swing like that, the only way to stop him is to take him out of the game. It's been a loong time since he scored under 20 or held to less than 40% shooting. He has an answer for every defense out there," Adelman said. Houston is in perfect condition to sweep, but you can't count out the Clippers just yet. A young and energetic team such as them never goes down without a fight.
Kevin Martin
34 points | 7 rebounds | 7 assists | 2 steals | 1 block | 12/24 FG | 2/4 3P | 8/8 FT
Key Performers:
Rockets:
Aaron Brooks - 17 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 6/10 FG
Yao Ming - 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 5/8 FG
Courtney Lee - 11 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5/10 FG
Luis Scola - 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 5/11 FG
Clippers:
Mo Williams - 27 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 10 TO, 11/22 FG, 3/7 3P
Randy Foye - 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 6/20 FG
Eric Bledsoe - 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6/9 FG, 2/4 3P
Blake Griffin - 11 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 4/15 FG
Al-Farouq Aminu - 9 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4/7 FG
30 24 27 31 112
22 16 23 26 87With their season on the line, the Clippers put up a fight in the first half of Game Four. Outside shots were falling for the Clippers, as they shot a series high 35% from beyond the arc (7/20), and a series high 44% from the field. Randy Foye finally had himself a good game. He scored 18 points on 7/17 shooting, including 4/9 from downtown. Mo Williams chipped in 16 points on 7/17 shooting as well, and Ike Diogu contributed a surprising 12 points from off the bench as well.
Leading the way for the Clippers was Blake Griffin. Griffin was held down in the second half, as the Rockets continued to bring the double-team. He scored 26 points shooting 11/26 from the field. He had a near triple-double with 11 rebounds and seven assists. LA just could not get it done.
What started as a defensive grind in the first quarter slowly turned into a shootout for the Rockets. Their shooting went from 42% in the first half, to 48% in the second half. Scoring 32 points in the third quarter made the difference, as the Clippers would not come within single digits for the rest of the game.
Kevin Martin continued his onslaught with 28 points, four assists and three rebounds, going 12/13 from the free throw line. Getting a big lift from the bench, the Rockets started the third quarter on a 21-10 run, en route to a 104-87 victory.
After having years upon years of frustration and being stuck in the first round all the time, the Rockets find themselves in the second round easily, sweeping what was an inexperienced and injury-riddled Clippers team. "There is a lot of work to be done in the off-season. Obviously the team doesn't need very much changes to be better in the playoffs, the improvement has to come within. We need to improve our shot selection, and be more aggressive on offense. This is really not the way you want to go out in your first season," said Clippers' star Blake Griffin.
"Their best player went down, and there was nothing they could do. This is a young team with a lot of potential, though, so you can definitely expect they'll be back in the playoffs next season," said Rockets' big man Yao Ming. Yao had 12 points, six rebounds, and two rejections shooting 6/11 from the field. He played a post-season high 34 minutes in this game. That's a welcome sign for the Rockets. If they keep up their strong play, heck, they may be able to get another sweep in the second round to get back to the Conference Finals.
Kevin Martin
28 points | 4 assists | 3 rebounds | 1 steal | 8/17 FG | 12/13 FT
Key Performers:
Rockets:
Luis Scola - 16 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 7/12 FG
Yao Ming - 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 6/11 FG
Kyle Lowry - 10 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 3/7 FG
Aaron Brooks - 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2/6 FG, 6/7 FT
Clippers:
Blake Griffin - 26 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 11/26 FG
Randy Foye - 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 7/17 FG, 4/9 3P
Mo Williams - 16 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 7/17 FG
Ike Diogu - 12 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 6/11 FG
23 26 32 23 10421 24 19 23 87
I like sweeps! 
I just noticed that the 2k's sim engine is favoring the Weak Three. 
Great job man!
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