Rockets 102, Hornets 95
HOUSTON -- James Harden and Terrence Jones converted three-point plays inside the final minute as the Houston Rockets held on for a 102-95 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night at Toyota Center.
After former Rockets guard Jeremy Lin pushed Charlotte to an 89-88 lead with a free throw at the 1:41 mark, Jones turned a spinning, twisting layup into a basket while scoring through a Cody Zeller foul.
Jones converted the free throw, and after Zeller pulled the Hornets even with a layup following a deft pass from Lin, Harden added a three-point play to boost the Rockets lead to a 94-91 edge with 31.6 seconds left.
Harden finished with 36 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Jones chipped in 17 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Rockets (15-14), who extended their home winning streak to six games.
The Hornets (15-12) fell for the fourth time in five games. They were paced by guard Kemba Walker (14 points, six assists and five rebounds) and Lin, who added 13 points with five assists in reserve.
The Hornets' offensive woes were defined by two particularly ugly stretches. After reserve guard Jeremy Lamb delivered Charlotte a 31-27 lead with his three-point play at the 11:50 mark of the second quarter, the Hornets did not score again until Lamb drilled a 3-pointer with 6:38 left in the first half.
Through that span, the Rockets scored just 10 points, and after guard Brian Roberts scored in transition for the Hornets with 4:50 to play in the second quarter, Charlotte reclaimed the lead at 39-37. It took a driving layup from Harden for the Rockets to push ahead 45-44 at the break.
Charlotte recorded just two field goals over the second half of the third quarter. However, the Rockets failed to capitalize, adding just four points to their five-point advantage to lead 69-60 heading into the final period.
Hornets rookie forward Frank Kaminsky carried the offensively club for nearly six minutes, scoring all 12 Charlotte points between a pair of Nicolas Batum free throws with 2:44 left in the third and two free throws from Lamb with 8:13 left that cut the Rockets' lead to 79-71.
Kaminsky keyed a 13-0 run with a three-point play, converting a free throw after his driving layup on a crafty inbounds play. When Charlotte forward Spencer Hawes hit a 3-pointer with 6:14 left, the Rockets' 13-point advantage was gone.
NOTES: Having dropped three of their last four games entering the week, the Hornets could count a recent spate of turnovers as an issue. Charlotte leads the league in turnover rate (12.0 per 100 possessions), but averaged 16.5 turnovers in losses to the Wizards and Magic, with its ball security in the pick-and-roll especially wayward. ... The Rockets remain committed to starting F Clint Capela alongside C Dwight Howard, with that tandem sharing the frontcourt for the 11th time Monday. Houston interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff lauded the defensive rebounding prowess of Capela and Howard in concert, but Capela is averaging fewer total rebounds per 48 minutes as a starter (12.7) than as a reserve (13.0). ... After a sluggish start in his return from back surgery, Rockets F Donatas Motiejunas appears to have found his footing, averaging nine points in 18 minutes in his last five games.