Harden tweaks ankle as Rockets edge Clippers

The Houston Rockets ground out a huge win Wednesday night over the Los Angeles Clippers, a team they'd play in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs if the season ended today, but it may have come at a cost. 

James Harden, who's used to wreaking havoc on other dude's ankles, came up clutching his own after stepping on Chris Paul's foot on a drive to the hoop during the fourth quarter. 

Harden stayed in the game, and knocked down a huge triple late to help his team close out the Clippers 110-105, but afterwards he was seen limping badly on his way out of the arena, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. 

"It looked like he sprained it pretty bad," said Rockets coach Kevin McHale. "He's a tough young man. He takes a lot of beating. He's very resilient. He sucked it up."

"It's pretty sore right now," Harden said, "but get some rest tonight, ice it and get some rest tomorrow and hopefully be ready to go Friday."

Harden finished with a team-high 21 points and 10 assists. 

In a game that featured 16 ties and 15 lead changes, the Clippers led by a point heading into the fourth, before the Rockets finally started to create some separation. 

They got a huge boost from reserve wing Corey Brewer, who had 13 of his 20 points in the fourth, and Donatas Motiejunas, who got a rare start at center and delivered 18 points and nine boards. 

For the Clippers, Paul was his typical brilliant self, scoring 22 points, dishing 14 dimes, and doing his utmost to spoil Brewer's excellent night. 

DeAndre Jordan narrowly missed his fourth 20-20 game of the month, finishing with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Jamal Crawford poured in a game-high 24 off the bench. 

None of it was enough, as the Rockets rode a steady barrage of 3-pointers (they hit 17 of a ridiculous 44 attempts) to their third consecutive win, while the Clippers dropped a tight one for the second game in a row.