Turnovers Pop Up in Clipper Defeat

After sleepwalking to a 19-point second-half deficit to the Houston Rockets, the Clippers’ offense suddenly woke up Thursday night.

Rookie Lamar Odom and Derek Anderson brought the Clippers to within three points with more than eight minutes remaining--plenty of time against a team coming off a double-overtime loss the night before.

But instead of clamping down on the defensive end, the Clippers responded with the same type of effort that has plagued them recently, and Houston ran off 12 consecutive points to cruise to a 109-96 victory before 10,673 at Staples Center.

The loss was the Clippers’ fourth in a row and third of their current five-game home stand.

“We shot a pretty good percentage and the entire stat sheet is pretty even,” said Clipper Coach Chris Ford, whose team dropped to 4-11.

“The glaring thing is our 22 turnovers that led to 31 points. They had 18 turnovers for 12 points.”

What made Houston’s victory so bad for the Clippers was the Rockets were coming off three consecutive overtime games and had lost at Phoenix in two overtimes Wednesday.

The Rockets (5-12) also played without veteran center Hakeem Olajuwon, who’s on the injured list after hernia surgery, and flashy rookie Steve Francis, who sufferedan ankle injury against the Suns.

The Rockets, who played the entire fourth quarter without Charles Barkley, were led by Shandon Anderson, who had 27 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Cuttino Mobley and Bryce Drew, who each scored 15.

Barkley, who played only 29 minutes, had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

“They kind of made it easier on us,” Barkley said. “I don’t think they played well. I’m glad I didn’t have to go back into the game.”

The Clippers were led by Anderson, who had 23 points on eight-of-12 shooting from the floor. Odom, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, finished with 22 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

“I don’t know what’s going wrong,” said Derek Anderson, who also had three steals. “I tried to penetrate, get things going all night.”

Houston, which should have been tired in the final game of a four-game trip, played like the fresher team from the opening tipoff. The Clippers, who have been at home since Saturday, did not give too much effort on the defensive end and the Rockets made them pay.

Houston’s Anderson, who entered the game averaging only 8.2 points, made layup after layup in scoring 17 points on seven-of-nine shooting in the first half.

Center Kelvin Cato, who finished with 14 points, also had a big half with 10 as the Rockets led at the break, 58-48.

A bright spot for the Clippers early was the play of center Michael Olowokandi, who has been struggling with fouls. Olowokandi made five of his first six shots but became a non-factor in the second quarter when his teammates failed to get him the ball inside.

After scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds in the first period, Olowokandi had only two turnovers in the second.

After the Rockets opened up a 77-58 lead, the Clippers made a comeback, sparked in part by Troy Hudson, who finished with eight points and three assists in 21 minutes off the bench.

Hudson, who did not make a shot in his previous two games, helped speed up the Clippers’ play as they closed within eight points at the end of three quarters, 79-71.

Anderson and Odom combined for 10 points at the start of the fourth and the Clippers cut Houston’s lead to 84-81.

“For that one spurt we had, we had a very small lineup,” Ford said. “Troy came in with a lot of energy and we were able to play a more up-tempo game. But we weren’t able to sustain it.”

As expected, frustration is starting to creep in.

“It is. It’s not really working out,” said Olowokandi, who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. “You gotta get together and dig deep inside and figure something out.”

Helping out is an area where the Clippers need work. They finished with only nine assists as a team.