Yao Ming scored 21 points, Tracy McGrady added 18 points and nine rebounds, and the Houston Rockets bottled up Chris Paul in a 91-82 victory against the New Orleans Hornets last night.
Paul, who came in averaging 22 points, went 2 for 10 from the field and 8 for 8 from the free-throw line to score 12. He had 12 assists, but the Hornets shot 41 percent (31 for 76) and were outrebounded 41-35.
Luis Scola added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who led by 12 at the half and shot 53 percent (8 for 15) in the third quarter to take a 70-53 lead to the fourth. The Hornets couldn't crack Houston's double-digit lead until the final 15 seconds.
James Posey scored five points in the first three minutes of the last quarter, but McGrady was fouled putting back his own miss and sank the free throw to preserve Houston's comfortable lead. McGrady drove to the basket all night and bounced back from a 2-for-12 outing in San Antonio on Friday.
The Hornets, who came in shooting 45.2 percent from the field for the season, missed eight of their first 12 shots in the final quarter and the Rockets led by 17 with five minutes left.
New Orleans twice pulled to 11 in the closing minutes, but Yao scored inside the first time and McGrady sank two free throws with 1:07 to go to put Houston up 88-75.
David West scored 18 and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Hornets. Tyson Chandler added 16 points and Devin Brown scored 13.
The Rockets swarmed Paul whenever he tried to drive the lane and he finished with three turnovers. He twisted his ankle with 3:14 left in the first half, but stayed in the game and played 35 minutes.
Paul missed his first three shots and the Rockets built an eight-point lead in the first quarter. Aaron Brooks started for Rafer Alston, who was suspended for two games for an altercation with Matt Barnes in Phoenix on Wednesday.
NEW ORLEANS -- Stojakovic 1-5 0-0 3, West 8-15 1-2 18, Chandler 7-10 2-3 16, Peterson 3-8 0-0 7, Paul 2-10 8-8 12, Butler 1-7 0-0 2, Posey 2-5 3-4 7, Wright 2-4 0-0 4, Armstrong 0-2 0-0 0, Brown 5-10 3-3 13. Totals 31-76 17-20 82.
HOUSTON -- Artest 3-10 3-4 10, Scola 5-8 2-2 12, Yao 7-12 7-7 21, McGrady 5-12 7-7 18, Brooks 1-6 3-4 6, Wafer 4-6 0-0 10, Landry 1-3 2-2 4, Hayes 2-2 1-1 5, Head 2-7 0-0 5. Totals 30-66 25-27 91.
New Orleans 21 15 17 29 -- 82
Houston 26 22 22 21 -- 91
3-Point Goals--New Orleans 3-10 (West 1-1, Stojakovic 1-2, Peterson 1-3, Butler 0-1, Paul 0-1, Posey 0-2), Houston 6-15 (Wafer 2-3, Artest 1-3, Brooks 1-3, McGrady 1-3, Head 1-3). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--New Orleans 39 (West 10), Houston 47 (Scola 10). Assists--New Orleans 17 (Paul 12), Houston 21 (Artest 7). Total Fouls--New Orleans 24, Houston 17. Technicals--Chandler, Posey. A--18,303
(18,500).
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement