RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

HOUSTON (AP) _ The defenseless Clippers let the Rockets get inside, and Houston made Los Angeles pay.

Kelvin Cato's 21 points led six Rockets in double figures Thursday night as Houston dominated inside for a 122-100 victory over Los Angeles.

The Rockets, equaling their highest-scoring output of the season and winning by their largest margin, outscored the Clippers 76-28 in the paint.

``We have no defensive players,'' Clippers coach Chris Ford said. ``You have to make some defensive stops. I'd rather get beat with the jump shot, not have your guy dribble by you for a layup or interior pass.''

Layups and dunks, many of them off passes from Rockets guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, who finished with 11 assists apiece, propelled the Rockets to just their third win in 11 games.

``When you move it around and don't care who scores, it really shows,'' Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.

The Rockets finished with a season-high 36 assists. Mobley's 11 were a career high, and the double-digit assists for Mobley and Francis marked the first time that's happened for two Rockets since February 1995.

``This was a fun game to play in because we all played well,'' Francis said. ``Coach said for me to be more aggressive out there, which I tried to do.''

The Clippers lost their second straight and eighth in nine road games despite a career-high 31 points from Maurice Taylor, 24 from reserve Eric Piatkowski and the first career triple-double from rookie Lamar Odom, who finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Odom, however, shot only 2-for-13 from the field.

``We got blown out,'' Odom said, calling the game ``one of the worst performances of the year.''

Asked if he learned anything from the game, he replied: ``How it feels to lose like this and be embarrassed.''

``It was not one of his better games,'' Ford agreed. ``But he got a triple-double.''

Taylor's 31 points topped the 30 he scored in a loss at Denver on Tuesday night.

``It doesn't mean anything because we lost,'' he said. ``We gave up too many transition baskets and the difference was the play of the backcourt.''

Francis had 19 points, and Mobley, Shandon Anderson and Walt Williams each scored 16, while Carlos Rogers added 15.

Houston broke open the game early in the third quarter with a 13-2 run to go ahead 78-58, ending the spurt with back-to-back baskets by Francis.

After the Clippers got baskets from Michael Olowokandi and Tyrone Nesby, Houston reeled off a 15-2 spurt, with Anderson accounting for eight points as the Rockets went ahead by as much as 29 points.

The Rockets used a 17-2 run late in the first quarter to build a 36-23 lead. The Clippers never led, but used an 11-3 spurt midway through the second quarter to trim the deficit to seven. That's as close as they would get as Williams' 3-pointer and driving layup in a 5-0 run closed out the half with Houston ahead 63-51.

``We played hard, smart and unselfish as a team,'' Williams said. ``It was a fun game to play.''

Notes: Odom's triple-double was the first by a rookie this season and sixth overall in the NBA. Los Angeles' Derek Anderson had a triple-double Dec. 6, making the Clippers the only team to have two players achieving the feat this season. ... Olowokandi's six block shots tied a career high. ... Houston's victory was the sixth straight at home over the Clippers. ... The 122 points were their most in a regular-season game since the Rockets scored 127 against Toronto on Nov. 20, 1997. ... Houston leads the NBA in turnovers, averaging nearly 19 per game. The 10 turnovers Thursday night were a season low.