Rozier, Hornets deal Rockets third straight loss

BACK ON TRACK. Terry Rozier and the Hornets return to the winning column. Photo from Instagram/@gmb_elchum3

LOS ANGELES, USA – Terry Rozier scored a team-high 24 points as the Charlotte Hornets used a red-hot start to defeat the Houston Rockets, 108-99, on Saturday, March 7 (Sunday, March 8, Manila time).

The Hornets scored the first 20 points and maintained a double digit lead for most of the second half in front of a crowd of 19,100 at Spectrum Center.

"This was a good one for us tonight," said Hornets rookie P.J. Washington.

"We felt like we should have won the last two so just coming out with the same intensity that we did those last two games tonight and it got us a win so we are trying to look to do that the rest of the season."

The Rockets, who were without Russell Westbrook, got little offense outside of James Harden and Robert Covington.

Harden finished with a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists but he also had the dubious honor of committing half of the Rockets' 20 turnovers.

Devonte Graham added 23 points, Washington contributed 22 points, Cody Zeller had 13 points, and Miles Bridges was good for 10 points for Charlotte.

Robert Covington scored 25 points for Houston, who lost their third straight game for the third time this season.

Aside from Harden and Covington, the Rockets' starters combined for just 8 points.

"I've never experienced that before – 20-0, that's a big deficit to overcome, and for whatever reason when we did attack, we turned it over," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni said of the slow start. "It was kind of weird."

With Westbrook, the Rockets' offense was hampered as they missed 5 three-point attempts in their first 12 possessions. – Rappler.com