With their No. 2 seed in the 2024-25 Western Conference playoffs now secure , the Houston Rockets had little to play for in Wednesday's road game at the Intuit Dome versus the Clippers . On the other side, Los Angeles can finish anywhere from No. 3 to No. 8 in the tightly packed West standings .
It showed in a 134-117 victory ( box score ) for the home team. The Clippers improved to 48-32 on the season, while the second-seeded Rockets are now 52-28.
Given that the game's result was largely meaningless to Houston, the Rockets were conservative with minutes and appearances for several rotation regulars. Fred VanVleet , Jabari Smith Jr. , Alperen Sengun , Dillon Brooks , Amen Thompson , and Steven Adams didn't play, while leading scorer Jalen Green (5 points, 3 assists in 15 minutes) was on a clear minutes limitation.
Yet, the Rockets still had a competitive showing and kept the deficit manageable, even with all those absences. Statistics of note included:
Reed Sheppard : Team-high 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals; 7-of-14 shooting (50.0%), 6-of-10 on 3-pointers (60.0%)
Tari Eason : 17 points, 5 rebounds; 7-of-13 shooting (58.3%), 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%)
Cam Whitmore : 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists; 6-of-12 shooting (50.0%)
Jock Landale : 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists; 4-of-7 shooting (57.1%)
Aaron Holiday : 16 points, 4 assists in 20 bench minutes; 4-of-6 on 3-pointers (66.7%)
Jeff Green : 19 points, 3 rebounds in 17 bench minutes; 7-of-9 shooting (77.8%), 4-of-6 on 3-pointers (66.7%)
Green, Eason, Whitmore, Landale, and Sheppard comprised an unusual starting lineup for the Rockets, owing to all the absences. In 10 games since February's All-Star break, the rookie guard drafted at No. 3 in the 2024 first round is shooting above 50% on 3-pointers (albeit with very inconsistent minutes and appearances).
Sheppard's six 3-point makes against the Clippers were a career-high.
With Wednesday's setback, Houston lost for just the third time in its last 18 games. Meanwhile, the No. 4 Clippers are now 16-3 in their last 19 as they seek to lock up a spot in the Western Conference playoffs without having to go through the play-in tournament .
Perennial All-Star guard and future Hall of Famer James Harden led Los Angeles with a game-high 35 points and 10 assists while making 10-of-18 shots from the field (55.6%), 5-of-11 from 3-point range (45.5%), and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Veteran star Kawhi Leonard added 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals, while big man Ivica Zubac had a triple-double with 20 points (69.2% FG), 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Both teams shot extremely well from 3-point range, with the Rockets going 20-of-40 (50.0%) and the Clippers 19-of-37 (51.4%). The difference largely came down to drawing fouls, with the Harden-led Clippers drawing 19 free throws (and making all of them) while Houston went 7-of-10 (70.0%).
"He was aggressive," head coach Ime Udoka said postgame of Sheppard . "He understands the shots that he's going to get against certain players and matchups. He was hunting those, especially in transition. It's a balance of him getting (other) guys shots and being aggressive for himself, and then just learning as he goes, against some really good players. Going against Harden and a tough defender like (Kris) Dunn, all of these are great experiences for him."
Houston will finish out its 2024-25 regular season with games on Friday (at the 49-31 Los Angeles Lakers ) and Sunday (home versus the 48-32 Denver Nuggets ). The Rockets will open up their first-round playoff series against the West's No. 7 seed the following weekend.
More: Rest or rust? With playoff seed secure, Ime Udoka wants Rockets to walk a fine line
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: In loss to Clippers, Reed Sheppard impresses for short-handed Rockets
