CLIPPERS LOSING CONTROL FRUSTRATION BOILS OVER IN LOSS TO ROCKETS HOUSTON 128, CLIPPERS 97.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

Sam Cassell did not punch rookie official Eli Roe.

But Cassell did make a punching motion at the rookie referee and then repeatedly barked at him until he received two straight technical fouls and an automatic ejection.

Frustration boiled over big time for the Clippers, who lost a second consecutive game with a 128-97 defeat to the Houston Rockets in front of 18,068 on Tuesday night at Staples Center.

Even though they started the night as the NBA's top rebounding team, the Clippers were outrebounded 47-26 by the Rockets.

Houston's 128 points and 58 percent shooting were the highest against the Clippers this season. The 26 rebounds by the Clippers were their fewest this season, and the 31-point margin of victory was the biggest.

Cassell had 25 points and six assists, before losing his cool with 37.8 seconds left in the third quarter. He had been yelling at Roe throughout the game, and when he was whistled for a questionable fourth foul, he let loose.

Cassell is expected to be fined for the incident, and there might be an outside chance of a suspension.

With the way Houston was manhandling the Clippers, however, he could have been upset with more than the officiating. Houston had led by as many as 23 points before the ejection, and after the Rockets made 3 of 4 free throws after the ejection, they were up by 20.

The Clippers have been a streaky team all season, but mostly, they have been streaking with victories. After a stretch of winning 10 of 12 games, they have now lost two in a row.

One saving grace for them is that after tonight's game in Golden State, they have the All-Star break to regroup.

When Cassell was ejected with 37.8 seconds left in the third quarter, he could have been just as upset with how Houston was manhandling the Clippers. The Rockets had led by as many as 23 points before the ejection, and in the fourth quarter they were up by as many as 35 points.

Though Cassell did not stick around for postgame interviews, both Mobley and coach Mike Dunleavy addressed his outburst.

``You can't blame refs,'' Mobley said. ``All they do is dictate how you play in the game. If I come out in a fight and I'm on you in the beginning, what do you think the judge is going to do in that first round? It's going to be 10-8, me. It ain't going to be 10-10. You're aggressive from the gate. I just got my butt whooped the day before. Come on, are you kidding me?''

Dunleavy said he knew that Houston would present matchup problems because of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, who scored a game-high 28 points in 29 minutes. The coach even said that Houston is one of the teams that has given the Clippers some of their biggest matchup problems during his three-year tenure with the squad.

--Note: Before Tuesday's game, the Clippers traded forward Chris Wilcox to the Seattle SuperSonics for Vladimir Radmanovic, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Radmanovic should give the Clippers an outside shooting threat as a 6-foot-10 small forward. Over his five NBA seasons, the 25-year-old native of Serbia & Montenegro has averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds and is a 37.7 percent shooter from 3-point range.

Joe Stevens, [phone]

joe.stevens(at)presstelegram.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Clippers center Chris Kaman goes up for a shot during Tuesday's game.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

CLIPPERS at GOLDEN ST.

- Joe Stevens