James Harden kept Wesley Johnson’s ankles intact in the Houston Rockets’ latest meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers but he still did enough to inspire his team to another win in a close battle.

The MVP favourite posted 24 points, five rebounds and seven assists in a narrow 101-96 victory at Toyota Center.

But the Clippers made it a nail-biting finish for the home team as they scored six straight points to cut the lead with a minute to go. But Harden sealed the win when he made a free throw with six seconds remaining.

Foul shots proved to be a big difference in this encounter as the Rockets had a 23-8 advantage in attempts at the line.

This led to Clippers head coach Doc Rivers blasting the officials after the game for the free-throw discrepancy and labelling it a “complete joke”.

"I don't say much about officiating," Rivers said, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. "They shot 41 threes, we shot 18. We doubled them in the amount of points in the paint. And it was 24-8 in free throws. That's a joke. That's a complete joke."

Rivers believed that the Clippers earned more trips to the line with their aggressive style of play and should’ve been rewarded for it.

"I thought our guys drove and got hit all game," Rivers said. "Lou [Williams] down the stretch got killed on a play and no call. Austin [Rivers] gets hit and no call. DJ [DeAndre Jordan] gets fouled over the back.

"I haven't [complained about officiating] all year. Our guys played their hearts out. But for them to shoot that many more free throws than us, and we're the team attacking, it just doesn't make basketball sense to me. It is what it is, and we have to move on."

To put it into perspective, Harden alone shot as many free-throws as the Clippers on the night.
Rivers’ frustration is understandable as the loss had playoff implications for Los Angeles as they dropped out of the top eight in the Western Conference and a game behind the San Antonio Spurs.

They gave a good account of themselves against the conference leaders who shot uncharacteristically badly, hitting just 38.9 percent from the floor and 29.3 percent from 3-point range.

But the Clippers don’t have time to dwell on this defeat and must concentrate on the remaining 15 games to try and claim an unexpected playoff spot as there are still many twists and turns to come in the compelling race in the west.

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