It was a trip that provoked angst in August, seven months before the Clippers would board their charter flight for the first of five stops.
"As you get the schedule in the summer and you kind of glance over it," shooting guard J.J. Redick said Sunday, "this trip really stood out."
Four of five teams the Clippers will play on their 10-day, five-city trip that starts Tuesday in San Antonio are probably headed to the playoffs. Houston has won five of its last six games against the Clippers, including the final three games of an epic comeback in the Western Conference semifinals last spring.