Clippers beat Rockets 106-96 for 3rd straight win

But they still led all the way in earning their third straight victory, 106-96 over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Caron Butler scored 17 of his 19 points in the opening quarter for Los Angeles. Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Chauncey Billups had 19 points, Jamal Crawford scored 13 points and Chris Paul had 10 points and 11 assists as the Clippers started all their regulars again after the lineup had been hit by injuries during their recent Grammy road trip.

"We played great and got a little complacent with the lead," Billups said. "We've shown to lose our discipline sometimes."

Chandler Parsons scored 17 points, Jeremy Lin added 14 points and James Anderson had a season-high 14 for the Rockets, who have lost five straight to the Clippers and three of five overall.

"They came out on fire and we didn't do a good job of making it difficult for them," Lin said. "Once they got in a rhythm, it just kind of snowballed at least in the first quarter."

Lin was set to have an X-ray on his right wrist after a fall in the second quarter.

"I think it's fine. It just hurts," he said.

James Harden missed the game with a sprained right ankle and sore left knee after stepping on David Lee's left shoe in the fourth quarter against Golden State. Harden is the Rockets' lone All-Star selection.

"He's our best player," Parsons said. "Anytime your best player goes down it hurts your team, but we had to play without him. We still just need to compete without him because sometimes he's not going to be there."

With the Clippers' powerful starters reunited and shooting their highest percentage in a quarter this season, it wasn't enough that the Rockets shot 50 percent in the first. They still trailed 46-28 as the Clippers scored their most points in a period since 1986.

"It was like they were playing H-O-R-S-E," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We had no presence defensively."