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NBA: Paul George, Clippers look to stay hot vs. Rockets

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Field Level Media/Reuters

<p>Paul George has been the catalyst during the Los Angeles Clippers&#x27; three-game winning streak.</p><p>During that stretch, George averaged 28.3 points while shooting 68.2 percent from 3-point line.</p><p>So, what&#x27;s been the key during George&#x27;s torrid scoring streak?</p><p>&quot;Make or miss, I think I&#x27;m in a good place when I come out, play to be aggressive and look to score,&quot; George said. &quot;Everything kind of takes care of itself, but if I&#x27;ve got a scorer&#x27;s mentality, it gives me confidence to go out and make shots.&quot;</p><p>The Clippers are playing their best basketball at the right time heading into Friday&#x27;s game against the visiting Houston Rockets. And they&#x27;ve benefitted from the addition of veteran point guard Rajon Rondo.</p><p>Playing in his second game with his new team, Rondo finished with 15 points, nine assists and no turnovers in a 113-103 win over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Thursday. His production helps take some of the burden off George and Kawhi Leonard.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s doing everything we thought he was going to do when he got here,&quot; coach Tyronn Lue said about Rondo. &quot;He&#x27;s controlling the game, controlling the tempo and making some great passes for guys to have open shots.&quot;</p><p>The Clippers are 5-2 on the team&#x27;s current, nine-game homestand. Los Angeles has won three straight games and nine of its last 11 overall.</p><p>The Rockets enter Friday&#x27;s contest on a positive note. They snapped a five-game losing streak with a 102-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday in Houston.</p><p>The Rockets benefitted from the return of guard John Wall, who missed four games with swelling in his right knee.</p><p>Houston head coach Stephen Silas will take the highs with the lows in his first season with the team. The Rockets recently experienced a tough stretch as they endured a franchise-worst 20-game losing streak.</p><p>Now, Silas will try to create some momentum for the Rockets by attempting to get a win against the streaking Clippers at Staples Center. Entering Friday&#x27;s contest, the Rockets are 7-18 on the road so far this season.</p><p>&quot;What we want to draw from (Wednesday) was the defensive mindset we had, the adaptability that we had as far as changing defenses,&quot; Silas said. &quot;And the spirit. Everybody I think who watched the game saw the spirit of our group, especially down the stretch.&quot;</p><p>One of the few bright spots for Houston has been the play of forward Christian Wood. He&#x27;s averaging a career-high 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds a contest.</p><p>Wood missed significant time earlier this season with a left ankle injury. He is still working to get back to where he was at the beginning of the campaign.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;ve been kind of a step slow since coming back from the injury,&quot; Wood said. &quot;But I&#x27;m slowly but surely getting back into rhythm. And I think with that much time I had off and still not being 100 percent, it&#x27;s finally good feeling myself slowly getting back into a rhythm.&quot;</p><div><strong>--Field Level Media</strong></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1544902" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Paul George has been the catalyst during the Los Angeles Clippers' three-game winning streak.</p>

Paul George has been the catalyst during the Los Angeles Clippers' three-game winning streak.