The Los Angeles Clippers already know they will play the Utah Jazz in the first round of the postseason, and they took a critical step toward clinching home-court advantage Monday with a straightforward 125-96 victory over the Houston Rockets.The win was Los Angeles' sixth in a row and first in three tries against the Rockets this season.Chris Paul spearheaded a balanced attack that outscored the Rockets by 24 points in the third quarter to seize command of the contest andalso included a DeAndre Jordan double-double:Los Angeles is now 50-31 and still tied with the Jazz for the No. 4 seed after the latter beat the Golden State Warriors on Monday. The Clippers own the head-to-head tiebreaker and can clinch said home-court advantage with a home win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.They will have the franchise's winningest head coach leading the way against the Kings thanks to Monday's triumph, as the team shared:Houston dropped to 54-27 and is locked in at the No. 3 seed.James Harden didn't add a dazzling night to his MVPcampaign, going just 2-of-9 from the field and 1-of-6 from three-point range with five turnovers. He did threaten a triple-double, however, with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in just 24 minutes.Harden was playing shorthanded with Lou Williams, Nene Hilario, Clint Capela and Patrick Beverley all out for Rockets. Eric Gordon (17 points and five rebounds) and Montrezl Harrell (15 points and 13 rebounds) did what they could, but the Rockets were outmatched.Defense was apparently optional out of the gates, as each team poured in 35 points in the first quarter. Harden appeared well on his way to a double-double with 10 points and six assists, while Paul and Luc Mbah a Moute were also in double figures on the other side in the first 12 minutes.Paul did his best to match Harden as an early floor general:The high-scoring pace slowed before Los Angeles took a 61-57 lead into intermission. The Staples Center crowd didn't miss an opportunity to needle Hardenwho picked up his fourth foul in the second quarteras the Clippers built their halftime advantage, per Calvin Watkins of ESPN:The facade of a close game quickly ended in the third quarter when Houston started 1-of-12 as the Clippers' lead ballooned to more than 20. The home team lived up to its Lob City moniker during its extended run:In all, Los Angeles outscored the Rockets 36-12 in the third, which gave it a 97-69 advantage and complete control of the contest heading into the final 12 minutes.Jonathan Feigen of theHouston Chronicleweighed in on the proceedings:The Rockets had to wait for the end of the game to board the plane home, but at least Harden didn't have to exert much energy on the bench with the game well in hand for Los Angeles.Houston never threatened down the stretch with many of the regulars watching the finish. The emptying of the benches gave Paul Pierce the opportunity to make history with a late basket, as the NBA noted:Attention now turns to the regular-season finales.The Rockets will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in what is essentially a meaningless game for them, but Los Angeles' contest against the Kings will prove critical. A win clinches home-court advantage in the first round, but a Utah loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday would also do the trick.Postgame ReactionRivers looked ahead to Wednesday after the contest, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: "We're coming just to play. Let's just take care of ourselves. We're going to come out and try and win the game. If we take care of our business, it doesn't matter what Utah does."He also reflected on his team's third-quarter dominance, per Turner: "I called a time out early in the third quarter and after that I thought we just kind of turned it on. So I liked that we had the ability to do that."On the other side, Rockets head coach Mike D'Antonicalled Monday's contest "hard" for some of his players because it was meaningless for Houston's playoff position, per Watkins.
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