The Los Angeles Clippers suffered their third straight loss and eighth in nine games with Thursday night’s 115-113 heartbreaking defeat on the road against the Houston Rockets.
Clippers Players Forget To Grab The Inbound
L.A. managed to grab defeat from the jaws of victory through a comedy of errors late in the fourth quarter. With eight seconds left and trailing 114-111 at Houston, the Clippers needed a quick inbound.
However, not one Clippers player was interested in grabbing the inbound on the potential game-tying possession. It was as if the team had already thrown in the towel.
James Harden, who was the closest player to the inbounder, was in la-la land as he waited for Nicolas Batum to pass the ball to Kawhi Leonard, but Batum violated the five-second rule, resulting in a turnover.
No way the Clippers lost this waypic.twitter.com/jMaVfQ3j53
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 12, 2025
Rockets fans immediately celebrated the embarrassing miscue, as Houston went on to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 24.
It was another close game that L.A. could have won.
Clippers big man Ivica Zubac matched a season-high with 33 points. He shot 13-of-14 and added seven rebounds. Leonard, meanwhile, scored 24 points in a season-high 41 minutes, while Harden put up 22 points.
L.A. Has Been Embroiled In Controversies
Bizarre plays like this have to be karma for the Clippers releasing veteran guard Chris Paul, who was sent home earlier this month from Atlanta, where the team was visiting for a Dec. 3 road game against the Hawks.
Clippers basketball president Lawrence Frank issued a statement shortly after confirming the decision:
“We are parting ways with Chris and he will no longer be with the team. We will work with him on the next step of his career,” Frank said in the statement.
“Chris is a legendary Clipper who has had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we’ve struggled. We’re grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise.”
But the Chris Paul news isn’t even the tip of the iceberg.
NBA insider Pablo Torre reported in September that the Clippers helped Kawhi Leonard net millions of dollars in an alleged “no-show” endorsement deal with Aspiration, a former team sponsor that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, to circumvent the salary cap.
This season has been a PR nightmare for the Clippers.
