More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

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The Clippers held the Rockets' two leading scorers, Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza, who average 17 points each, to 7 points apiece, on combined 4 for 19 shooting.  They also limited the Rockets to 5 for 18 from three, including 1 for their last 10 - three point shooting being a key to the Rockets win over the Clippers earlier this month.  So you'd think this game might have gone LA's way.  You'd think.

Instead, every other Rocket player picked up the slack, first and foremost Carl Landry.  Playing just a couple days after major oral surgery to repair the damage done by Dirk Nowitzki's elbow, Landry scored 27 points on 7 for 10 shooting and 13 of 15 free throws.  The Clippers hung around in the second half, and cut the lead to two in the fourth quarter.  But they never led after the last minute of the first quarter, and the Rockets prevaild 108 to 99.

I actually spent all day today at Disneyland with the family.  I watched the game on the DVR about midnight after getting home, and so it's pretty late as I work on this recap.  Which is my way of saying, lower your expectations.  I don't know why the Clippers couldn't stop - couldn't come close to stopping, really - Landry, Luis Scola, or David Andersen, who combined to shoot 19 for 27.  Someone commented on the preview today that the Rockets are the anti-Clippers.  The Clippers have tons of talent on paper, but seem to underachieve on the floor.  The Rockets are the opposite.  When the Clippers need a player to step up, it almost never happens.  The Rockets are the opposite.   When the Clippers need a bucket, they get a turnover.  When the Rockets need a play - they get a play.  They are the anti-Clippers.

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	vs.
12-15		16-11
Toyota Center
December 22nd, 2009, 5:30 PM
Prime Ticket, 980 AM
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Aaron Brooks
Eric Gordon	SG	Shane Battier
Al Thornton	SF	Trevor Ariza
Marcus Camby	PF	Luis Scola
Chris Kaman	C	Chuck Hayes

The Back Story:

December 2nd in LA - Houston 102 - Clippers 85 -  Recap  Box Score

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	vs.
12-15		16-11
Toyota Center
December 22nd, 2009, 5:30 PM
Prime Ticket, 980 AM
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Aaron Brooks
Eric Gordon	SG	Shane Battier
Al Thornton	SF	Trevor Ariza
Marcus Camby	PF	Luis Scola
Chris Kaman	C	Chuck Hayes

The Back Story:

December 2nd in LA - Houston 102 - Clippers 85 -  Recap  Box Score

The Big Picture:

The Clippers are now 2 and 2 on the first four games of their six game road trip.  They've alternated wins and losses thus far, so since they lost in San Antonio last night, they're due for a win in Houston, right?  On paper, this appears to be the most winnable of these last three wins.  Then again, on paper, the Rockets shouldn't have a better record than the Spurs, but they do.  Ignoring what happens in the alternate basketball dimension that is the AT&T Center, the Clippers have played well offensively on this trip.  But if they're going to beat the Rockets in Houston, they'll have to do it with defense.  When they played Houston in LA, the Rockets put on a three point shooting display, making 12 of 23 compared to 1 of 14 for LAC.  That's a bit of a difference.  Of course, the Clippers didn't have Eric Gordon in that game, and Rasual Butler was mired in a slump that he appears to have busted out of, so they should at least be capable of making a few threes in this one.  Whether they can defend the Rockets remains to be seen.  It would also be nice to see Chris Kaman, who has played really well in his last six games can redeem himself for a 5 for 16, 5 rebound, 4 turnover game in the first meeting.  The bottom line is - without Gordon and with Kaman causing more harm than good, the Clippers aren't going to beat anybody, whether they make 12 threes or not.  If Gordon and Kaman play well in this one, it should at least be competitive.  I hope that the Clippers feel they have something to prove after being blown out by the Rockets in LA, and being blown out in San Antonio last night.  The only good news about last night's blowout loss is that all the starters took the fourth quarter off, which will help on the second game of a back to back.

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More photos » by Jennifer Whitney - AP

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Here's all you need to know about the games between the Clippers and San Antonio this season.  In two meetings, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have yet to play in the fourth quarter.  Manu Ginobili did play eight and a half minutes in this one after taking the fourth off in LA - presumably Manu was feeling a little rusty and wanted to get in a little extra work.

But let's face it, there's a feeling of inevitability in games between the Clippers and the Spurs.  One gets the impression that any five guys wearing Spurs uniforms could square off against any five guys wearing Clippers uniforms and win handily.  I mean, when was the last time Theo Ratliff made a jump shot?  It doesn't matter, if he's wearing sliver and black and the other team is wearing red, white and blue, that shot is going in.

It hardly seems worthwhile analyzing this game.  It was San Antonio versus the Clippers.  San Antonio won.  What more do you need to know?

In fact, the Clippers were specifically done in by harrowing stretches at the end of the first quarter and the third quarter.  A 21 to 4 run at the end of the first, and a similar 17 to 4 run late in the third was a cumulative plus 30 for the Spurs, and they more or less coasted during the rest of the game.  During those runs, it seemed as if the Clippers simply could not make shots - and the Spurs couldn't miss.

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	vs
12-14		14-10
AT&T Center
December 21st, 2009, 5:30 PM
Prime Ticket, 980 AM
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Tony Parker
Eric Gordon	SG	Keith Bogans
Al Thornton	SF	Richard Jefferson
Marcus Camby	PF	Tim Duncan
Chris Kaman	C	Antonio McDyess

The Back Story:

December 15 in Los Angeles - San Antonio 115, Clippers 90 - Recap  Box Score

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	vs
12-14		14-10
AT&T Center
December 21st, 2009, 5:30 PM
Prime Ticket, 980 AM
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Tony Parker
Eric Gordon	SG	Keith Bogans
Al Thornton	SF	Richard Jefferson
Marcus Camby	PF	Tim Duncan
Chris Kaman	C	Antonio McDyess

The Back Story:

December 15 in Los Angeles - San Antonio 115, Clippers 90 - Recap  Box Score

The Big Picture:

The Clippers opened the season 0-4.  After 13 games, they fell five games below .500 at 4-9.  Since then, they've hovered somewhere below .500, having won 8 of their last 13, thanks in large part to a friendly schedule.  Well, that schedule gets decidedly hostile starting today.  Sixteen of their last 22 opponents have a losing record, and two more games came against the currently .500 Thunder.  That means only four teams have had winning records.  Unfortunately for them, that imbalance is going to correct itself over the rest of the season.  The next five games, and eight of the next nine, are against teams over .500.  If the Clippers play like they have in the first half of the last couple of games, then they could be fine.  If they play like they have in the second half, they'll be annihilated.  It starts off with a bang, against a team that handed the Clippers a 25 point loss in LA eight days ago, in a building where LA has never won.  Of the Clippers' top six players, almost all of them are playing well right now.  Marcus Camby is on a rebounding tear, averaging 17 over the last 4 games.  Chris Kaman is shooting well and scoring again over the last five games, looking more like the guy who began the season.  Baron Davis has averaged over 10 assists over the last four.  Rasual Butler has had his strongest string of games of the season by far.  Al Thornton has been playing well for awhile now, and was clutch at the end of the Philadelphia game.  And although he has struggled handling the ball the last couple of games, Eric Gordon remains the Clippers' most consistent performer - even when he's a little disappointing, he's still solid on defense and efficient on offense.  Beyond those six, it's anyone's guess what is going to happen.  Craig Smith got his first DNP of the season on Saturday.  DeAndre Jordan spent a few days on the inactive list.  Sebastian Telfair has been vey quiet recently.  With so little production coming from the bench, Coach has given a longer look to Mardy Collins the last few games - expect him to get minutes against the Spurs tonight as well to defend Ginobili.  The top six will have to play well tonight for the Clippers to have any chance of getting their first ever win in the AT&T Center - but they'll need some help from some one else as well.

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More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

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As the game was nearing it's final conclusion, Ralph Lawler said "What looked like it was going to be an improbable loss turns into an improbable win."  He's probably right.  The Clippers came uncomfortably close to losing a game in which they had a big first half lead for the second consecutive night.  How close?  Try less than a tenth of a second close.

Andre Iguodala's jump shot at the buzzer was originally ruled the game winner.  MDsr and several Clipper players headed to the locker room, and Milph were lamenting the heartbreaking loss, originally believing that the standard review of any buzzer-beater was a mere formality.  As it happens, the refs ruled that the ball was still touching Iggy's fingers as time expired, nullifying the basket and sending the game into overtime.  It seems like every season there are several of these "so close you can't even tell with a replay what the right call is" shots.  This one was so close, that from some angles I think it was gone in time, and from other angles I think it was not. 

I would say that the Clippers caught a huge break there, and of course they did.  But don't lose sight of how lucky the shot was in the first place.  As Iguodala was making his move, Eric Gordon knocked the ball free.  The ball was loose with 2 seconds showing on the clock, so the idea that Iguodala was able to regain possession, turn and drain a long jumper in time was unlikely in the extreme.

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	vs.
11-14		7-19
Wachovia Center
December 19th, 2009, 4:30 PM
FSN West, 980 AM
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Jrue Holiday
Eric Gordon	SG	Willie Green
Al Thornton	SF	Andre Iguodala
Marcus Camby	PF	Thaddeus Young
Chris Kaman	C	Samuel Dalembert

The Back Story:

First meeting of the season.  The Sixers swept the season series last year.

by Charles Krupa - AP

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	vs.
11-14		7-19
Wachovia Center
December 19th, 2009, 4:30 PM
FSN West, 980 AM
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Jrue Holiday
Eric Gordon	SG	Willie Green
Al Thornton	SF	Andre Iguodala
Marcus Camby	PF	Thaddeus Young
Chris Kaman	C	Samuel Dalembert

The Back Story:

First meeting of the season.  The Sixers swept the season series last year.

The Big Picture:

The Clippers plan of reaching .500 in Philadelphia today looked pretty strong at half time in New York last night.  But a terrible second half showing against the Knicks leaves them at 1-1 on the easy part of their road trip.  Eric Gordon had an uncharacteristically weak game in New York, and the team didn't have a clue how to defend the pick and roll in the second half (which is strange, since they did a good job in the first half).  There's not a lot to say about the team going into this game.  They have to play two complete halves of basketball, particularly on defense.  One half isn't going to do it.  I do expect Eric Gordon to play well after struggling last night.  He won't play that poorly twice in a row.  Chris Kaman has scored 20 points or more in three consecutive games.

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