One of the most unwatchable quarters of this NBA season began with a missed layup by the Clippers. Then Houston missed its own layup, grabbed its own offensive rebound, only to turn it over.
The Clippers responded by throwing the ball out of bounds. The teams would combine for three more misses before Rockets big man Christian Wood scored the third quarter’s first points, nearly 90 seconds in.
By the third quarter’s end, the Clippers had scored 11 points, their fewest in any quarter this season, and produced as many turnovers as baskets (five). Houston could not pull away because it was little better, scoring just 19 points, with five turnovers too.