Rockets beat playoff
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cam Whitmore scored 21 points and the Houston Rockets beat the playoff-bound Los Angeles Clippers 116-105 on Sunday to salvage a .500 season.
Amen Thompson had a triple-double of 18 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists for the already eliminated Rockets, who finished 41-41 after losing six of their last nine games.
The Pacific Division champion and fourth-seeded Clippers are headed to the playoffs, where they’ll meet Luka Donic and the Dallas Mavericks in the first round next weekend.
Terance Mann scored 24 points and Amir Coffey added 18 for the Clippers in their last regular-season game at Crypto.com Arena. It’s where they’ve juggled dates with the Lakers and NHL’s Kings since 1999. The team is moving to its new Intuit Dome in Inglewood next season.
The Clippers couldn’t avoid their first three-game losing streak since James Harden’s first game with the team, when they lost six in a row from Nov. 1-14.