Clippers Pummel Rockets 120-105 for Sixth-Straight Win

There are nights when the L.A. Clippers look dominant, and then there's what the team did to the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

Playing just their 10th game with a fully healthy roster this season, the Clippers went into Houston and pummeled the Rockets, winning by a final of 120-105. However, the final score fails to tell the whole story.

Houston scored 40 points in the fourth quarter, but 26 of those came after the Clippers subbed out their starters with a little over six minutes to play in the frame. At the time, L.A. had a 107-77 lead — the largest of the night.

L.A. flashed its two-way potential, allowing the Rockets to shoot just 36.1% from the floor and 16.7% from three-point range. A majority of those triples fell in the final six minutes of the game, though. In total, Houston's starters shot just 2-of-23 from beyond the arc. P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. made the only two.

The Clippers were led by Kawhi Leonard, who finished the game with 25 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in 28 minutes of play. He was a team-high +33, his second-best plus-minus rating on the season.

Montrezl Harrell and Ivica Zubac had big performances as well — Harrell posted 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes, and Zubac scored a season-high 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds and a block in 20 minutes.

Both of L.A.'s bigs dominated Houston's small-ball defense, combining to make 11-of-15 shots from the floor and 14-of-16 attempts from the free-throw line.

Russell Westbrook was the only saving grace for the Rockets, finishing with a game-high 29 points and 15 rebounds in 32 minutes. James Harden went 4-of-17 from the field to finish with 16.

The win is the Clippers' sixth in a row, all of which have come against solid teams. L.A. began the streak with a 27-point victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, followed by wins over the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The streak comes at a perfect time for the Clippers, who will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in a pivotal matchup. L.A. currently has a 2-0 series lead over the Lakers, and a third win would give the team the tiebreaker if it gets to that point. As it stands, the Clippers are five games back of the Lakers.

The Clippers and Lakers will face-off Sunday at 12:30 Pacific time.