HOUSTON -- — Jabari Smith Jr. had a season-high 28 points with five 3-pointers and the Houston Rockets never trailed in a 125-104 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night in their NBA Cup opener.

It was Houston’s season-high fourth straight victory and the team’s second straight over the Clippers after getting a 111-103 win Wednesday night.

The Rockets led comfortably throughout and used a big run in the third quarter to enter the fourth leading by 19.

Fred VanVleet added 18 points and 10 assists for Houston and Dillon Brooks scored 17.

James Harden had 21 points for the Clippers, who lost their third straight after winning their previous four. He made three 3-pointers to move into a tie with Ray Allen (2,973) for second-most career 3-pointers behind Stephen Curry, who entered Friday with 3,779.

Takeaways

Clippers: Los Angeles was flat in its two games in Houston after its season-long winning streak. They’ll need to regroup and find a way to get more production from their starting lineup while they await the return of Kawhi Leonard. He hasn’t played this season while rehabilitating his right knee.

Rockets: Tari Eason and Amen Thompson again gave Houston a boost off the bench. The two combined for 29 points after scoring 18 each in Wednesday’s win.

Key moment

The Clippers used a 6-2 run to get within 12 with about eight minutes left in the third quarter before Houston scored the next nine points to extend the lead to 79-58. Brooks started that run with a 3 before VanVleet found Jalen Green for an alley-oop dunk.

Key stat

The Rockets had 20 fast-break points to just eight by the Clippers.

Up next

The Rockets visit Chicago on Sunday night and the Clippers host Utah that night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Ivica Zubac vs. Alperen Sengun (Jabari Smith Jr. gains possession)	0	0
11:38	Dillon Brooks misses 6-foot two point shot	0	0
11:35	James Harden defensive rebound	0	0
11:32	Norman Powell misses 27-foot three point shot	0	0
11:30	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	0	0
11:23	Jalen Green misses 24-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:19	Ivica Zubac defensive rebound	0	0
11:10	Jalen Green personal foul	0	0
11:09	Ivica Zubac offensive foul	0	0
11:09	Ivica Zubac turnover	0	0
10:57	Jabari Smith Jr. makes 10-foot pullup jump shot	2	0
10:39	Kris Dunn misses 23-foot three point jumper	2	0
10:37	Jalen Green defensive rebound	2	0
10:32	Jalen Green makes two point shot	4	0
10:14	Kris Dunn makes driving layup (James Harden assists)	4	2
10:02	Jabari Smith Jr. makes 25-foot three point jumper (Fred VanVleet assists)	7	2
9:40	Kris Dunn misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot	7	2
9:38	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	7	2
9:25	Alperen Sengun makes 8-foot two point shot (Fred VanVleet assists)	9	2
9:09	Alperen Sengun blocks Norman Powell 's 2-foot driving layup	9	2
9:05	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	9	2
9:03	Fred VanVleet misses running pullup jump shot	9	2
9:00	Derrick Jones Jr. defensive rebound	9	2
8:54	James Harden out of bounds bad pass turnover	9	2
8:40	Jalen Green bad pass (Kris Dunn steals)	9	2
8:36	Kris Dunn makes two point shot	9	4
8:15	Alperen Sengun makes three point jumper (Dillon Brooks assists)	12	4
7:59	James Harden misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	12	4
7:57	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	12	4
7:50	Ivica Zubac shooting foul	12	4
7:50	Alperen Sengun makes free throw 1 of 2	13	4
7:50	Alperen Sengun makes free throw 2 of 2	14	4
7:25	James Harden makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot (Norman Powell assists)	14	7
6:59	Dillon Brooks misses 25-foot three point jumper	14	7
6:57	Ivica Zubac defensive rebound	14	7
6:54	Fred VanVleet personal foul	14	7
6:54	Rockets Full timeout	14	7
6:54	Kai Jones enters the game for Ivica Zubac	14	7
6:41	Norman Powell misses 23-foot step back jumpshot	14	7
6:39	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	14	7
6:27	Jabari Smith Jr. misses 16-foot jumper	14	7
6:24	James Harden defensive rebound	14	7
6:10	Kai Jones makes 2-foot dunk (Kris Dunn assists)	14	9
5:46	Dillon Brooks lost ball turnover (Derrick Jones Jr. steals)	14	9
5:39	James Harden misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	14	9
5:36	Jalen Green defensive rebound	14	9
5:33	Dillon Brooks misses two point shot	14	9
5:33	Derrick Jones Jr. defensive rebound	14	9
5:32	Derrick Jones Jr. lost ball turnover (Jabari Smith Jr. steals)	14	9
5:31	Jalen Green makes layup	16	9
5:15	Kris Dunn misses 26-foot three point jumper	16	9
5:14	Derrick Jones Jr. offensive rebound	16	9
5:14	Derrick Jones Jr. misses tip shot	16	9
5:13	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	16	9
5:08	Dillon Brooks makes 26-foot three point shot (Jabari Smith Jr. assists)	19	9
4:52	Dillon Brooks personal foul	19	9
4:52	Tari Eason enters the game for Jalen Green	19	9
4:52	Amen Thompson enters the game for Jabari Smith Jr.	19	9
4:52	Kevin Porter Jr. enters the game for Kris Dunn	19	9
4:38	Tari Eason blocks Derrick Jones Jr. 's 4-foot driving floating jump shot	19	9
4:38	Clippers offensive team rebound	19	9
4:30	Kevin Porter Jr. lost ball turnover (Fred VanVleet steals)	19	9
4:28	Amen Thompson makes driving layup (Fred VanVleet assists)	21	9
4:18	Alperen Sengun shooting foul	21	9
4:18	Derrick Jones Jr. makes free throw 1 of 2	21	10
4:18	Amir Coffey enters the game for Norman Powell	21	10
4:18	Derrick Jones Jr. makes free throw 2 of 2	21	11
4:03	Tari Eason misses 25-foot three point jumper	21	11
4:00	Derrick Jones Jr. defensive rebound	21	11
3:57	Kai Jones makes 4-foot dunk (Kevin Porter Jr. assists)	21	13
3:37	Fred VanVleet makes 26-foot three point jumper (Alperen Sengun assists)	24	13
3:23	James Harden offensive charge	24	13
3:23	James Harden turnover	24	13
3:23	Steven Adams enters the game for Alperen Sengun	24	13
3:23	Rockets delay of game violation	24	13
3:23	Terance Mann enters the game for Derrick Jones Jr.	24	13
3:00	James Harden blocks Fred VanVleet 's 23-foot three point shot	24	13
3:00	Rockets offensive team rebound	24	13
2:58	Dillon Brooks makes two point shot (Fred VanVleet assists)	26	13
2:47	James Harden makes 26-foot three pointer (Amir Coffey assists)	26	16
2:28	Fred VanVleet misses 16-foot pullup jump shot	26	16
2:28	Clippers defensive team rebound	26	16
2:28	Tari Eason loose ball foul	26	16
2:28	Reed Sheppard enters the game for Fred VanVleet	26	16
2:28	Jalen Green enters the game for Dillon Brooks	26	16
2:28	Kevin Porter Jr. misses free throw 1 of 2	26	16
2:28	Clippers offensive team rebound	26	16
2:28	Kevin Porter Jr. misses free throw 2 of 2	26	16
2:26	Clippers offensive team rebound	26	16
2:21	James Harden makes 23-foot three point step back jumpshot	26	19
2:06	Reed Sheppard misses 29-foot three point jumper	26	19
2:04	Tari Eason offensive rebound	26	19
2:04	Kai Jones shooting foul	26	19
2:04	Tari Eason makes free throw 1 of 2	27	19
2:04	Tari Eason misses free throw 2 of 2	27	19
1:59	Kevin Porter Jr. defensive rebound	27	19
1:37	Terance Mann misses 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	27	19
1:35	Amen Thompson defensive rebound	27	19
1:30	Amen Thompson lost ball turnover (Amir Coffey steals)	27	19
1:25	Amir Coffey makes two point shot (Kevin Porter Jr. assists)	27	21
1:15	Jalen Green misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	27	21
1:12	Amir Coffey defensive rebound	27	21
1:05	James Harden misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot	27	21
1:04	Rockets defensive team rebound	27	21
48.1	Tari Eason makes two point shot	29	21
32.1	James Harden vs. Tari Eason (Reed Sheppard gains possession)	29	21
32.1	James Harden lost ball turnover (Tari Eason steals)	29	21
11.1	Kai Jones blocks Jalen Green 's 4-foot driving layup	29	21
7.1	James Harden defensive rebound	29	21
0.0	Terance Mann misses layup	29	21
0.0	Clippers offensive team rebound	29	21
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	29	21

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Toyota Center (Houston)

Houston, TX

Date & Time

1:00 AM, November 16, 2024

Coverage

NBA League Pass, Space City Home Network, FanDuel SN SoCal

Attendance

18,055

Referees

James Capers, Michael Smith, Natalie Sago

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	35	24	.593	W1
Phoenix	34	26	.567	W1
Golden State	31	29	.517	L1
LA Clippers	27	31	.466	L3
Sacramento	14	47	.230	W1

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

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Jabari Smith Jr. has season-high 28 points as Rockets rout Clippers 125-104 in NBA Cup play

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