HOUSTON — Corey Brewer and Josh Smith provided the Houston Rockets a needed punch off the bench, leading the way to a 110-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night at Toyota Center.
Brewer paired 20 points with six rebounds while Smith added nine points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks as Houston (39-18) snapped a six-game series losing streak to the Clippers (37-21).
With All-Star guard James Harden on the bench, the Rockets opened the fourth with a 13-1 run. Brewer and Smith co-authored the run to a double-digit lead, with Smith thwarting shots at the rim while Brewer scored in transition and from behind the arc. His second 3 of the period pushed Houston to a 97-86 lead and followed two fast-break baskets.
The Clippers closed to within four points on a driving layup from reserve guard Jamal Crawford but their comeback stalled there. Crawford paced the Clippers with 24 points while guard Chris Paul (22 points, 14 assists) and center DeAndre Jordan (22 points, 19 rebounds) posted double-doubles.
Harden finished with 21 points and 10 assists despite shooting just 4 for 13.
The Rockets survived another slow shooting start from Harden, his third in succession, and clawed out a 27-26 lead heading into the second quarter. But the Clippers caught fire on two fronts, with Crawford blitzing Houston with 13 second-quarter points before Paul and Jordan began picking apart the Rockets defense with pick-and-roll brilliance.
After Crawford ended his individual run of showmanship, burying a 3 that gave the Clippers a 45-42 lead, Paul and Jordan combined to score 13 of the Clippers’ final 15 points of the half, torturing Houston repeatedly. Paul had nine assists by the break; Jordan had 15 points.
The Clippers shot just 5 of 16 in the third quarter yet outscored the Rockets by making 12 trips to the free-throw line and tallying 11 points. Houston largely siphoned off the Paul/Jordan pick-and-roll but struggled to defend without fouling. But when Jordan departed with his fourth foul at the 2:46 mark of the third quarter, the Rockets got going.
NOTES: The Clippers signed F Jordan Hamilton to a 10-day contract and he traveled with the team to Houston. Hamilton, a 2011 first-round draft pick of the Dallas Mavericks, played in 126 games with the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets and was averaging 18.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 27 games with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Developmental League. … Clippers C DeAndre Jordan played in his 298th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the NBA. … Rockets G Patrick Beverley missed his second consecutive game with flu-like symptoms and F Kostas Papanikolaou sat out his second straight game with a right ankle sprain. … Rockets F/C Donatas Motiejunas has not experienced a significant uptick in rebounding with C Dwight Howard (right knee edema) sidelined, averaging 6.4 rebounds in the last 12 games with Howard out. Motiejunas is averaging 6.1 rebounds for the season.