Hornets 125, Rockets 109
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker scored 26 points and Marvin Williams added 25, and the Charlotte Hornets ran their winning streak to seven straight with a 125-109 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Walker bounced back from an off-night in a win over Detroit on Friday by hitting 11-of-16 of from the field with four 3-pointers. He also had six assists and five rebounds.
Williams scored 14 of his points in the first quarter and finished nine-of-16 from the field, on a night when the Hornets shot 54.5 percent from the field collectively.
The Hornets (37-28) remain the hottest team in the NBA and their seven-game streak is the franchise's longest streak since 2002. They have now won 13 of their last 15.
The Hornets raced to a 19-point first half lead. They saw the lead dwindle to two late in the third quarter, but opened the fourth quarter with a 17-2 run to pull back away and led by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter.
Jeremy Lin chipped in with 16 points. Nic Batum had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Courtney Lee scored 12, and Al Jefferson had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Rockets (33-33) had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Corey Brewer led the Rockets with 21 points, and Dwight Howard finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. But James Harden, who came into the game averaging 29.0, struggled to a two-of-12 shooting night and finished with 12.
The Rockets also got 15 points from Michael Beasley and 11 from Jason Terry.
The Hornets led 34-19 after one quarter, 62-57 at halftime, and 90-87 after three quarters. The Hornets then scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to take control for good. The biggest lead came at 117-93.
NOTES: Houston and Charlotte were playing on the second night of back-to-backs after winning on Friday night. The Rockets won at Boston 102-98, while the Hornets beat Detroit 118-103. ... The Rockets play an NBA-high 20 sets of back-to-backs this season. Charlotte plays only 15. ... The Rockets had beaten the Hornets 10 straight times over the past five seasons. They won the only previous game this season, 102-95 in Houston on Dec. 21. ... The Rockets were without F Terrence Jones (upper respiratory infection). ... Hornets G Kemba Walker came into the game needing five 3-pointers to overtake Glen Rice for second place on the franchise's career 3-point list. Walker has 504, Rice 508. The career leader is Dell Curry with 929. ... The Rockets came into the game second in the NBA in 3-pointers, averaging 10.74 per game. The Hornets were third at 10.47. ... The Rockets came into the game 29-25 under interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Bickerstaff has strong Charlotte ties. He is the son of Bernie Bickerstaff, who was the Charlotte Bobcats' original coach and general manager. ... The Hornets were playing the fifth game on a seven-game home stand. They will host Dallas on Monday. ... The Rockets were playing the final game of a five-game road trip. They will return home to face Memphis on Monday.