Josh Smith acts like he wasn’t the problem last night.
The Houston Rockets were badly outplayed in the second half by the L.A. Clippers, but more or less beat themselves.
Smith, who hit just 3-of-12 shots from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc, said after the game that the Rockets lacked energy and played “hero ball.”
“I felt like we tried to play a lot of hero ball tonight,” Smith said, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “We acted like this wasn’t a playoff game with the energy level, and that’s really discouraging.”
The Rockets ha 24 turnovers on the night, nine belonging to James Harden.
“I’m the catalyst, especially on offense,” Harden said. “I’ve got to do a better job – nine turnovers against a team don’t cut it.