The Hack-a-Shaq strategy is getting out of hand.
The Houston Rockets intentionally fouled Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan 14 times during the first half of Game 4 on Sunday, leading to 28 free-throw attempts for Jordan. That broke a 15-year record held by Shaquille O'Neal, who launched 27 free throws in a half against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000.
To put the 14 intentional fouls by Houston into perspective, all playoff teams combined for 15 intentional fouls in the 2014 playoffs, reports Kevin Pelton of ESPN.
Jordan only managed to sink 10 of his 28 attempts, which has to be considered a win for the Rockets. Head coach Kevin McHale played deep bench players for the sole purpose of hacking Jordan. He dusted off rookies Kostas Papanikolaou and Clint Capela, who committed eight fouls in three minutes combined.
The record for most free-throw attempts in one game also belongs to O'Neal, who tried 39 attempts in 2000. Jordan fell short of topping that total in the second half owing mostly to the lopsided score.
Coming into the game, Jordan has shot just 42.6 percent from the free-throw line across 10 postseason games.
