Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul will have to wait to face his former team for the first time.
The nine-time All-Star has been ruled out with a sore left adductor for the Rockets’ game against the LA Clippers on Friday (8 ET, ESPN).
Paul suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The loss, which snapped Houston’s 14-game win streak, was Paul’s first loss in a Rockets uniform. After playing in the Rockets’ opening night win, Paul missed the next month due to a left knee injury.
Coach Mike D’Antoni said the Rockets will be cautious with this, and any, injury.
“We’re not going to play guys if they aren’t 100 percent,” D’Antoni said. “We’ve got to win games obviously, but not at the expense of later on.”
Paul has averaged 17.1 points, 9.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 16 games this season. Paul played six seasons with the Clippers before being traded to Houston this summer. His next opportunity to matchup against his former team will come on January 15 in Los Angeles.
Houston hits the road after Friday’s game for a Christmas Day matchup in Oklahoma City (Mon., 8 p.m. ET, ABC).
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