The Charlotte Hornets have been scorchingly hot as of late and continued it against the Rockets on Saturday. Charlotte stretched their winning streak to seven games with a victory over Houston, 125-109; it was the Hornets’ 13th win in their last 15 games.
Kemba Walker and Marvin Williams got off to quick, hot starts. Scoring seven and 14, respectively, of Charlotte’s 34 first quarter points. James Harden’s struggles in the first would be indicative of his struggles for the game as he didn’t connect on a single field goal in his six attempts, and Houston only scored 19 points in the quarter.
The Rockets flipped the script in the second and hung 38 on the Hornets. Corey Brewer had 11 points, and Dwight Howard had eight to help led the Rockets. Charlotte scored 28 points in the quarter, but none came from Walker. Jeremy Lin had eight points, and Marvin Williams and Nic Batum had six points apiece to help the Hornets maintain a four-point halftime lead.
Another high-scoring quarter happened in the third with Houston scoring 30, and the Hornets scoring 28. James Harden was able to get rolling and scored seven points on four attempts. Michael Beasley had seven points in just under two minutes, and Kemba Walker and Nic Batum combined for 16 to help the Hornets maintain a 90-87 lead entering the fourth.
Charlotte, specifically Kemba Walker, shot the lights out in the fourth. The Bronx, NY product had 11 points on 5/6 shooting and the Hornets scored 35 collectively on 62% shooting. The Rockets weren’t as fortunate and scored just 22 points on 44% shooting. Harden scored just two points in the quarter and didn’t register a made field goal yet again.
Walker finished with 26 points and is averaging 28.6 points and 6.9 assists per game over the seven-game winning streak; Marvin Williams pitched in 25 points and four rebounds. James Harden only mustered 12 points on 2/14 shooting but did dish out ten dimes. Corey Brewer was the Rockets’ leading scorer with 21 on 9/15 shooting.
The Rockets play host to the Grizzlies on Monday while the Hornets play at home against the Mavericks on Monday as well.
Around The League
San Antonio captured the Southwest Division title and extended their home winning streak to 41 games as they downed the Thunder, 93-85. Leonard had 26 points, and Aldridge had 24 to lead the Spurs. Kevin Durant finished with 28 to lead the Thunder.
DeMar DeRozan flirted with a triple-double and registered 38 points, ten rebounds, and seven assists as the Raptors beat the Heat, 112-104. Joe Johnson had just his second game of 25 points or more this season and scored 28 to lead the Heat.
Brandon Knight scored 30 points and dished out seven assists in his second game back from injury as the Suns challenged the Warriors, but lost 123-116. Devin Booker had a career-high seven assists, but Steph Curry stole the show and had 35 points and seven threes.
Scores
IND 112 - DAL 105
HOU 109 - CHA 125
DET 125 - PHI 111
MIA 104 - TOR 112
MEM 83 - ATL 95
NOLA 92 - MIL 103
OKC 85 - SAS 93
WASH 100 - DEN 116
PHX 116 - GSW 123
ORL 84 - POR 121
