No matter what happened against Houston, Friday was going to count as at least one loss for the Clippers.
They avoided a second by weathering a roller-coaster ride to victory that mirrored the ups and downs of their previous 24 hours.
On the same day starting guard Patrick Beverley was lost indefinitely following surgery to fix the left hand he fractured Thursday against Phoenix — a setback for a team that rarely has been whole this season but had just gotten healthier — a roster missing more contributors than Beverley endured a feast-or-famine four quarters against the Rockets before pulling away for a 126-109 victory, their fourth consecutive at Staples Center.