casper
01-03-2010, 01:43 PM
HORNETS RALLY LATE TO DOWN ROCKETS
SPORTS NETWORK
New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Chris Paul poured in a game-high 28 points and dished out nine assists, as the New Orleans Hornets rallied late to defeat the Houston Rockets, 99-95, at New Orleans Arena.
David West added 15 points and five rebounds for the Hornets, who improved to 13-3 on their home floor this season. Emeka Okafor chipped in 14 points and 16 rebounds. Devin Brown and Darius Songaila each ended with 12 points for New Orleans, which has won two in a row and three of five overall.
"We're continuing to play well here at home. Someway, somehow, we've got to find that on the road, but right now we need to take care of home. Especially this month, we don't have that many home games, but the ones we do we have to win. This is a great start," Brown said.
Trevor Ariza donated 19 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets, who had won three of four coming in. Aaron Brooks finished with 17 points. Luis Scola chipped in 15 points while Kyle Lowry added 12 points, six boards, and six assists for Houston, which started a three-game road trip on Saturday.
Down 93-86 with three minutes left in the fourth, the Hornets ripped off 12 straight points to claim victory.
Paul's three-point play had New Orleans within 93-92 with 1:21 to play. Following an Ariza missed three-pointer, West drilled a 17-foot jumper to give the Hornets a one-point edge with 47.6 seconds remaining.
At the other end of the court, Carl Landry fouled out when he was whistled for an offensive foul away from the ball. Paul then made a turnaround jumper from the foul line to give New Orleans a 96-93 lead with 19 ticks left on the clock.
After Brooks was off the mark on a three-pointer, Brown made a pair of shots from the foul line to make it a five-point contest with 12.3 seconds to go. Ariza made a driving layup to get the Rockets back within three, but West made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to seal the victory.
"I'm very disappointed with the loss. I'm trying to find out what an offensive foul is. That's all I want to find out is what an offensive foul is. Is it more than slapping a guy's hand away, is it more than stepping in front of a guy, is it more than putting a shoulder down? I don't know. That's all I've got to say about this game, otherwise it's going to cost me," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman said.
The Rockets held a 26-24 edge after the first quarter, and started the second on a 14-8 run. Lowry's jumper gave Houston a 40-32 lead with over seven minutes to go until half.
The Hornets ripped off six straight points near the end of the period to get within two, though Scola made a pair of free throws right before the break to give the Rockets a 50-46 margin heading into the locker room.
Houston opened the third on a 12-5 spurt to build on its advantage. Shane Battier's trey made it a 62-51 game with 7:15 remaining. New Orleans was within 77-71 heading to the fourth.
Game Notes: The Rockets went 8-of-20 from beyond the arc, while New Orleans made just 3- of-14 three-pointers...Houston had won three straight and four of its last five meetings with the Hornets coming into Saturday.
SPORTS NETWORK
New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Chris Paul poured in a game-high 28 points and dished out nine assists, as the New Orleans Hornets rallied late to defeat the Houston Rockets, 99-95, at New Orleans Arena.
David West added 15 points and five rebounds for the Hornets, who improved to 13-3 on their home floor this season. Emeka Okafor chipped in 14 points and 16 rebounds. Devin Brown and Darius Songaila each ended with 12 points for New Orleans, which has won two in a row and three of five overall.
"We're continuing to play well here at home. Someway, somehow, we've got to find that on the road, but right now we need to take care of home. Especially this month, we don't have that many home games, but the ones we do we have to win. This is a great start," Brown said.
Trevor Ariza donated 19 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets, who had won three of four coming in. Aaron Brooks finished with 17 points. Luis Scola chipped in 15 points while Kyle Lowry added 12 points, six boards, and six assists for Houston, which started a three-game road trip on Saturday.
Down 93-86 with three minutes left in the fourth, the Hornets ripped off 12 straight points to claim victory.
Paul's three-point play had New Orleans within 93-92 with 1:21 to play. Following an Ariza missed three-pointer, West drilled a 17-foot jumper to give the Hornets a one-point edge with 47.6 seconds remaining.
At the other end of the court, Carl Landry fouled out when he was whistled for an offensive foul away from the ball. Paul then made a turnaround jumper from the foul line to give New Orleans a 96-93 lead with 19 ticks left on the clock.
After Brooks was off the mark on a three-pointer, Brown made a pair of shots from the foul line to make it a five-point contest with 12.3 seconds to go. Ariza made a driving layup to get the Rockets back within three, but West made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to seal the victory.
"I'm very disappointed with the loss. I'm trying to find out what an offensive foul is. That's all I want to find out is what an offensive foul is. Is it more than slapping a guy's hand away, is it more than stepping in front of a guy, is it more than putting a shoulder down? I don't know. That's all I've got to say about this game, otherwise it's going to cost me," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman said.
The Rockets held a 26-24 edge after the first quarter, and started the second on a 14-8 run. Lowry's jumper gave Houston a 40-32 lead with over seven minutes to go until half.
The Hornets ripped off six straight points near the end of the period to get within two, though Scola made a pair of free throws right before the break to give the Rockets a 50-46 margin heading into the locker room.
Houston opened the third on a 12-5 spurt to build on its advantage. Shane Battier's trey made it a 62-51 game with 7:15 remaining. New Orleans was within 77-71 heading to the fourth.
Game Notes: The Rockets went 8-of-20 from beyond the arc, while New Orleans made just 3- of-14 three-pointers...Houston had won three straight and four of its last five meetings with the Hornets coming into Saturday.