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Paul guides Clippers over Rockets

Jan 5, 2012 - 6:37 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Chris Paul had 20 points and 10 assists and Blake Griffin added 22 points and nine rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Houston Rockets, 117-89.

Randy Foye netted 16 points off the bench for the Clippers, who shot 57.3 percent from the floor.

Kyle Lowry scored 17 points and dished out five assists for the Rockets, who have lost three of their last four.

"We didn't play hard, we had a bad effort, didn't from the start. We have to guard and play, we didn't come out and execute, they put it on us," Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said.

The Clippers jumped on the Rockets right from the opening tip. They concluded the opening stanza on a 12-4 run and netted a season-high 41 first-quarter points, taking a 41-26 advantage into the second.

"They played last night, so in the first quarter we wanted to jump on them early," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said.

Paul paced the Clippers with 15 first-half points on 7-of-8 shooting -- to go along with seven assists -- as they took a 67-55 lead into the locker room. Griffin added 15 points on 7-of-11 from the field as Los Angeles shot a staggering 67.5 percent in the first half.

A 12-4 burst to open the second half gave Los Angeles a 20-point bulge, 79-59, and Foye's layup with 5:08 remaining in the fourth gave the Clippers their largest lead of 30, 111-81.

The Clippers turned the ball over just seven times while forcing 19 giveaways from the Rockets.

"It was our defense tonight," Paul said. "When we get stops and get out and run, we're an exciting team to watch."

Game Notes

The Clippers have won just five of their last 19 games against Houston...Los Angeles finished with 30 assists...Chauncey Billups had 13 points and four assists, DeAndre Jordan had seven points and eight rebounds and Caron Butler netted 11 points.