Clippers' Jordan records another 20-20 game in win over Rockets

Los Angeles, CA  - Jamal Crawford scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers downed the Houston Rockets 110-95 on Wednesday.

DeAndre Jordan finished with 24 points and 20 rebounds and made enough free throws down the stretch to keep Houston at bay. J.J. Redick added 20 points and All-Star Chris Paul totaled 12 points and 12 assists in the win.

The Clippers were mired in a 1-5 slump before knocking off the Mavericks on Monday. They head into the All-Star break with a 35-19 record thanks to the Rockets attempting 45 3-pointers and only making nine of them.

James Harden was especially cold from the perimeter, going 0-for-7. The All- Star guard was held to single digits for the second time all season, as he scored just nine points and only attempted five free throws.

Corey Brewer and Josh Smith led the Rockets with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Smith also pulled down 13 rebounds.

Houston sits in second place in the Southwest Division with a 36-17 record.

The Clippers opened up a back-and-forth contest by scoring nine of the first 11 points of the first quarter, with Crawford's banked 3-pointer from the top of the key giving them an 89-81 lead.

Trailing by 10 with under 4 1/2 minutes to play, the Rockets began fouling Jordan intentionally. Jordan, a horrid 40.8 percent free throw shooter coming in, went just 7-for-16 from the line, but Houston never capitalized.

The playoff hopefuls played to a 26-26 tie in the first quarter, and a tight second ended with the Rockets holding a 56-54 lead.

Glen Davis' hard-fought putback beat the third quarter buzzer and gave the Clippers an 80-79 edge heading to the fourth.