Rockets outlast Clippers, 107-97

Posted: December 19, 2015 -- 11:15 pm.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- Dwight Howard's 22 points and 14 rebounds helped the Houston Rockets defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 107-97 in a foul-filled basketball game.

Howard set the tone with 6 points in the paint to start the first quarter. Howard finished the first period with 8 points while teammate James Harden scored 11 in the quarter.

"We wanted to be aggressive," J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. "That's the team we want to be every single night."

Both teams took turns in tonight's "hackathon". Trailing 44-21, the Clippers started intentionally fouling Howard; and, Howard's struggles at the foul line helped the Clippers crawl closer in the game (50-36). Then, the Clippers switched to fouling Clint Capela.

Howard made 6 of 13 foul shots in the second quarter while Capela sank just 2 of 6 free throws.

With their offense out of rhythm due to the constant fouling by the Clippers, the Rockets shot 29.4% (5 for 17 field goals) in the second period and were outscored 29-19 in the second stanza.

After a stellar first quarter, the Rockets (14-14) 21-point first quarter lead dwindled to 57-46 at halftime.

The third quarter was sluggish and sloppy by both teams; but, the Clippers used a 12-7 spurt (over a six minute span) to slice the Rockets' lead to six (64-58). Trevor Ariza nailed consecutive three-point shots (both shots came from assists by dishes from James Harden) to help boost the lead to 12 points.

The Rockets led 83-71 after three quarters; and, a 17-7 run over the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter boosted the margin to 22 points (100-78). The Clippers waved the white flag and began substituting to replace their starting five.

CLICK HERE for The HRR's Rockets' write-ups.