LOS ANGELES -- Kevin McHale coached like a desperate man on Sunday night.

Too bad his team didn't play with the same desperation.

With a 128-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, the Houston Rockets are on the verge of elimination from the postseason, down 3-1 in their second-round series. You can blame McHale for his Hack-A-Shaq strategy backfiring, James Harden's disappearing act and Dwight Howard failing to maintain his composure.

Of course this trio isn't alone: McHale has lost confidence in Josh Smith, who played just three second-half minutes, has seen Terrence Jones' game vanish and watched his defense fail to make credible stops.

James Harden led the Rockets with 21 points in their Game 4 loss. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

The Rockets allowed Austin Rivers to have his name chanted in the Staples Center twice during this series like he's about to get nominated for a Grammy.

Jason Terry, who scored 16 points, was the lone spark Sunday and that's not saying much.

In the past two games, the Rockets have lost by a total of 58 points.

"They beat the hell out of us," McHale said. "Really, I don't know what to tell you."

Harden has played a soft game considering the runner-up in MVP voting was such a dominant player during the regular season. In the opening round of the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks, Harden was a controlling force with well-rounded games that saw him set a playoff career-high with 42 points in Game 3 He also averaged 28.4 points and shot 46.5 percent from the field.

Against the Clippers, Harden, who is averaging 24.5 points and shooting 44.8 percent, has struggled with double teams and he often waits too long to distribute the ball. Normally so good at splitting double teams, Harden is struggling to do that consistently against the Clippers.

Harden started Sunday's game off the ball, giving him a chance to make plays off screens and pick-and-rolls. Nobody is better on the break than Harden whether he's pushing the ball up court or pulling back for step-back jumpers. Harden made his first three shots on Sunday, but then missed his next six.

McHale opted for a strategy Harden dislikes: Hack-A-Jordan, sending Clippers center DeAndre Jordan to the free-throw line 34 times, including 28 in the first half. The tactic clearly slowed the Rockets' up-tempo offensive rhythm, but also that of Harden.

"I mean, personally, I don't like it," Harden said of the hacking strategy, which in Game 4 resulted in Jordan making 14 of 34 free throws. "But I guess different coaches have their different philosophies on the game."

McHale wanted to establish Howard in the post but foul trouble caused the Rockets center to become a spectator, playing just seven minutes of the first half.

Howard's frustration level was boiling after his takedown of Blake Griffin, who tried to dunk on him, to exchanging words with good friend Jordan and also griping with Matt Barnes.

After Howard picked up his sixth foul with 9:52 to play in the game, he tossed the ball feebly away causing an ejection.

He became the second Rockets player in this series to get tossed. Terry was sent home early in Game 3.

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"It's frustrating," Howard said. "I get emotional when I'm playing in the playoffs, and I want to win so bad. It's frustrating at times, but I just have to try my best to keep my cool."

Smith is struggling from the field in the series, shooting 27.3 percent and he hasn't converted more than four field goals in any of the four games. McHale also sat Smith to go with a small lineup with Howard dealing with foul trouble.

What's Jones' excuse?

He starts off well but disappears such as in Game 4 when he scored 10 first-half points only to go scoreless in the second half. He needs an up-tempo offense to get his game going and that's not happening.

And then there was that distasteful third quarter for the Rockets when they shot 33.3 percent and watched the Clippers outscore them 43-25 to take a 103-79 lead.

The only saving grace for the Rockets is they haven't lost three consecutive games all season. But with Game 5 on Tuesday back in Houston, the confidence level of this team seems down, if there is any confidence at all given how badly the Rockets played this weekend.

"It is upsetting," Howard said. "But I trust [we'll] make up for it. We'll keep our heads up high and continue to play hard and hopefully things will change. We got to do a better job of coming out of those third quarters, that's when they seem to make their big push."

The third quarters are just a small reason for the Rockets being down 3-1 in the series.

"This is the ultimate adversity right now," Harden said. "We've got Game 5 back at the house and it's really win or go home. Our backs are against the wall and we've got to show up."