Charlotte Hornets vs Houston Rockets Box Score on Dec 13, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 14, 2017

HOUSTON -- Chris Paul posted a season-high 31 points. and the Houston Rockets seized control with a 25-0 run bridging the first and second quarters in their 108-96 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night at Toyota Center.

Houston (22-4) extended its winning streak to 11 games and remained unbeaten (12-0) with Paul in the lineup.

Paul added 11 assists and seven rebounds to his ledger and dominated the game on both ends. He finished 5 of 9 on 3-point attempts; Houston shot 17 of 45 (37.8 percent) from deep.

James Harden added 21 points and eight assists while Eric Gordon scored 17 points off the bench for Houston. The Rockets struggled catching a rhythm before their reserves and Paul wrangled control late in the first quarter, turning a three-point deficit into a significant lead.

While Charlotte (10-17) managed just one field goal between a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist dunk at the 3:40 mark of the first quarter and a Kemba Walker pull-up jumper with 8:07 left in the half, the Rockets scored 32 points during that stretch, including seven treys and a three-point play.

Houston's 25-point run started with a P.J. Tucker jumper with 2:07 left in the first and concluded when Gordon sank the Rockets' third consecutive 3-pointer at the 9:52 mark of the second. Paul scored 10 straight points during the run and hit a trey before Gordon gave Houston a 49-23 lead.

The Hornets were undone by their bench in the first half. As Houston stretched its lead, Charlotte reserves totaled two points on 1-for-9 shooting. Hornets starters re-entered and managed to cut the deficit to 12 points, but that working margin proved too large to overcome.

Dwight Howard paced the Hornets with 26 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks. Kidd-Gilchrist added 18 points and 11 boards while Walker added 13 points but on 5-for-15 shooting. Charlotte missed 17 of 21 3-point tries.

NOTES: Hornets F Nicolas Batum missed the previous game with a left elbow injury but returned to the starting lineup and finished with nine points and nine rebounds. ... An added benefit to the Rockets' acquisition of G Chris Paul is the lessened workload on G James Harden. Entering Wednesday, Harden was averaging 35.9 minutes per game, his lowest in his six seasons with Houston. Harden led the NBA in total minutes in 2014-15 (2,981) and 2015-16 (3,125). ... Rockets F Luc Mbah a Moute injured his right shoulder after taking an awkward fall following a dunk late in the second quarter. He did not return.