Here we are at Christmas and the NBA season is nearly half over and the Rox are leading the Western Conference. No misprint here folks, Houston has a 1/2 game lead on the mighty Golden State Warriors and a 4.5 game lead over the Spurs. A lot of that is due to the recent 14 game winning streak that just ended on Wednesday in a 6 point loss to the Lakers. I don't like the Lakers much largely because a certain player's father is a world class douche bag. Be that as it may it seems like a little fatigue and a couple of injuries combined to slow the team down. They still scored 116 and the addition of a stud player in Chris Paul to compliment James Hardin has made the Rockets more than an afterthought.
Right now CP3 is on the sidelines with a pulled groin and we likely won't see him again until after the first of the year. Eric Gordon is back from an injury of his own to step into the starting lineup for Paul. Houston has been getting really good minutes from Clint Cepela but he's been in and out of the lineup with a heel contusion. He is out of the lineup tonight against the LA Clippers who are leading late in the game. Nene has been a beast on the boards tonight hauling down 17 rebounds. The Beard is heading for another 50 point game you just hope Houston gets a couple of stops down the stretch. I'm watching the last minutes of the game and the Rox are definitely getting screwed on calls. The Clippers are in full flop mode and it's costing the Rockets big time. I think with just 1:31 left in the game and down nine Houston will be suffering their 2nd straight loss.
Win or lose tonight the Rox are showing they are a team to be reckoned with. BTW, James Hardin just fouled out of the game but he stopped to give a ref a piece of his mind and was ejected for his trouble. It's incredible to think that Hardin has had back-to-back 51 point games and Houston lost both games.
The game is mercifully over now and the Clips beat Houston 128 to 118.

Before the game the Rockets, in a real classy move IMO, showed a tribute video to honor former Rocket and current Clipper Patrick Beverly. Beverly earned his way into the NBA by coming up through the D leagues and he was a major contributor for 5 seasons for Houston. This past summer Beverly was traded to the Clippers as part of the Chris Paul deal but Houston decided to honor Patrick for his time as a Rocket. Beverly was honored despite the fact that he is out for the season and likely not even going to be at the game. I like Darrell Morey and the Rockets for this tribute. A very nice and classy thing to do.