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Clippers resume trek against Rockets

Mar 4, 2012 - 3:50 PM (Sports Network) - Now that their lead atop the Pacific Division has evaporated, the Los Angeles Clippers are starting to feel the heat and will resume a six-game, 10-day road trip tonight against the Houston Rockets.

The Clippers have lost four of six games and now sit even with the rival Lakers for first place in the division standings. They fell to 1-1 on the trek following Friday's 81-78 loss to lowly Phoenix in the desert, as NBA dunk leader (99) Blake Griffin had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Clippers, who fell to 9-8 as the guest this season.

Chris Paul had 16 points and five assists in LA's ninth straight loss at Phoenix. The Suns dominated the third quarter by outscoring the Clippers by a 31-17 margin, but Los Angeles rallied with a 26-18 advantage in the final stanza.

"I thought we got a little stagnant with some our offensive stuff," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We made a push in the fourth quarter, but we just couldn't capitalize."

The Clippers dropped their first game this season when holding their opponent under 90 points and are now 11-1 when doing so. They are 16-4 when holding the opposition to less than 100 points. Paul has recorded a steal in his last 38 overall games, dating back to last season, for a Clippers team that is off to its second-best start through 34 games in franchise history, trailing the 22-12 mark of the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves.

Los Angeles, which went 4-2 on a six-game trip from Feb. 3 - Feb. 13, will also visit the Timberwolves, Nets and Spurs. Caron Butler has struggled from the floor recently, averaging just 8.1 points in his last seven games. He posted 15.3 ppg through his first 25 games.

Houston will try to avoid losing back-to-back games in Space City when it closes out a brief two-game homestand this evening. It has dropped two in a row since winning four straight -- all at home -- and suffered a 117-105 setback to Denver the last time out on Friday.

Kevin Martin woke up and scored a season-high 35 points, while Kyle Lowry compiled 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Rockets, who are still a dominant 15-5 at the Toyota Center. Martin had just six points in a loss at Utah on Wednesday.

"It's effort, it's technique, it's want-to," said Houston head coach Kevin McHale about his team's effort. "As I said before, it's a myriad of things that we're not doing. It's very disappointing."

After entertaining the Clippers Houston will kick off a five-game road trip through Boston, Toronto, New Jersey, Cleveland and Oklahoma City. Houston has lost three in a row away from home. It will try to keep Los Angeles under 90 points Sunday since it has recorded 25 wins in a row when holding an opponent under that total.

Houston dropped a 117-89 decision to the Clippers on Jan. 4 this season at Staples Center. Paul had 20 points and 10 assists, while Griffin scored 22 points in that one. Lowry had 17 points for the Rockets, who are still a solid 13-4 in the past 17 meetings with LA.

The Clippers have lost 13 of 16 trips to Space City.