Rockets-Bobcats Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Jan 20 2013 2:05PM

The Houston Rockets have dropped to .500 after a disastrous, road-heavy stretch.

There's no venue that's been less intimidating for opponents than Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena.

Houston will try to avoid an eighth straight loss on Monday when they look to hand the Bobcats a franchise-record 15th straight home loss.

Since a 12-3 surge lifted it to seven games above the break-event point and into sixth in the Western Conference, Houston (21-21) has gone winless to fall into a tie for the eighth spot with Portland.

The Rockets are second in the league with 104.5 points per game, but they're averaging 93.3 through this slide following Saturday's 92-79 loss at Minnesota - their sixth road game during the skid.

Houston committed 20 turnovers to raise its league-high average to 16.6.

"We're so out of character right now," said coach Kevin McHale, whose team last dropped eight in a row during a 15-game skid early in the 2001-02 season. "We have turnovers, when guys are open we're not hitting them and we take the extra dribble.

"Right now, we're really in a funk and we've got to get ourselves out of it. That's the bottom line. And we will."

James Harden knows he needs to improve as he's hitting just 25.0 percent from the field and scoring 18.3 points per game - 7.5 less than his season average - during the first three stops of a trip that ends Monday.

"I'm not playing to the best of my ability," said Harden, who'll face Charlotte for the first time since pouring in 33 points for Oklahoma City in a 122-95 win March 10. "I'm not making shots, I'm not making plays. I think we're kind of in a fog right now. We've got to find a way to get out of this fog."

Visiting a Bobcats team that hasn't won at home since Nov. 21 might be the perfect solution.

Charlotte (10-30) opened its four-game homestand Saturday with a 97-93 loss to Sacramento. The Bobcats also dropped 14 straight on their home floor at the end of last season.

"We've just got to come out ready to play next time," said leading scorer Kemba Walker, who shot 6 of 17 and finished with 14 points with 10 assists on Saturday. "It's tough. We've been losing some pretty close games, and we definitely need a home win."

Facing the high-scoring Rockets seems like the last thing Charlotte needs. The Bobcats have allowed 106.2 points per game during their home skid, letting opponents shoot 41.3 percent from 3-point range.

Charlotte is 1-17 this season when its opponent hits 10 or more 3s, and Houston averages a West-best 10.0 makes from beyond the arc.

The Rockets, who have lost by an average of 9.1 during their slide, have won three straight in this series and have held Charlotte to 82.7 points per game while winning 11 of the last 13 meetings.

Harden, Rockets beat Bobcats to snap 7-game skid

By STEVE REED
Posted Jan 21 2013 6:26PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Struggling with his jump shot, James Harden turned to his backup plan on offense.

Harden decided the best way to help the Houston Rockets snap a seven-game losing streak was to start taking the ball to the basket, draw contact and get to the foul line.

That strategy worked pretty well on Monday.

Harden scored 29 points and hit all 10 of his free throws in the fourth quarter as the Rockets rallied to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 100-94 in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee.

Harden made just 5 of 20 field goals, but went 19 of 21 from the free throw line. He was perfect from the line when the Rockets overcame a seven-point deficit in the final period.

"It felt like winning a championship," Harden said of snapping the losing streak. "It feels good. We have had our losing ways and just to get this one off our back, go back home and get that confidence back is big. Maybe we can get our swagger back a little bit."

Kemba Walker was 6 of 7 on 3-pointers and had a career-high 35 points for the Bobcats, who set a franchise record with their 15th straight loss at home.

The longest home losing streak in NBA history is 19 straight by Dallas during the 1993-94 season.

Ramon Sessions added 19 points for the Bobcats.

But while Walker was phenomenal, it was Harden who took over when the game was on the line.

"We got in the penalty really early, so we decided to get the line as much as we can," said Rockets coach Kevin McHale.

"But 21 times is pretty amazing. James was what, 5 for 20 from the field, with 29 points. That's hard to do."

Marcus Morris had 21 points and tied a career high with eight rebounds for the Rockets. Carlos Delfino scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer from the right corner that put Houston ahead for good at 96-94 with 1:54 left.

Harden has led the Rockets in scoring in 22 of the past 23 games. He also finished with seven assists and seven rebounds while playing 42 minutes.

While McHale was thankful to get out of Charlotte with a win, he wasn't exactly thrilled with his team's overall sloppy play.

"We've got to play better," McHale said. "We were missing layups, bouncing the ball off our knee, you know, it was kind of like a comedy act there for a while. That happens. We've been in a funk and we've got to work our way out of it."

It looked for a while as if the Rockets losing ways might continue.

Houston couldn't find a flow on offense early and fell behind by 12 against the typically slow-starting Bobcats.

Harden was just 2 of 9 from the field in the first half and missed several easy shots, including a pair of driving layups. He also had three turnovers, including one where he inexplicably lost control of his dribble with no defender near him. He twice had his shot blocked in the first half.

Harden's shaky first half ended when his heave from half-court as time expired sailed about 10 feet wide of the backboard.

Meanwhile, Walker was just getting started.

He made all three 3-point attempts in the first half, helping the Bobcats take a 56-45 lead at the break. And Charlotte led by seven entering the fourth quarter after Walker knocked down two more 3s late in the third quarter.

"He was just killing us," McHale said.

But as has been the problem most of the season, Charlotte had trouble closing out an opponent, shooting just 4 of 19 in the fourth quarter and scoring just 13 points.

Walker had seven of those points and Sessions had six, but no other Bobcats scored in the final period.

"Kemba and Sessions got going but we really need that third scorer," Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap said. "It's not an individual on our team, it's just finding who that third scorer is."

Walker said he's been working overtime on his jumper of late, but didn't feel much like talking about his career high after the game.

He was still miffed at yet another blown lead at home.

"It's tough," Walker said. "We're trying our hardest to win these games, but it's just not working out right now. Hopefully, things will work out for us. It gets tough in the fourth quarter. Teams adjust to what we've been doing. You have to execute. I thought we got some pretty good shots and just missed them."

NOTES: Bismack Biyombo tied a career high with seven blocked shots, four of those on Harden. ... Walker's six 3-pointers were a career best. ... Harden has scored at least 20 points in a career-high 23 straight games. ... Patrick Beverly scored a career-high 10 points for the Rockets.

Notebook: Rockets 100, Bobcats 94

Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com
Posted Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:16 PM - Updated Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:16 PM

THE FACTS: James Harden scored 12 of his team-high 29 points in the fourth quarter as the Houston Rockets rallied from a 12-point deficit to down the Charlotte Bobcats 100-94 Monday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Arena. The win snaps a seven-game losing streak for the Rockets and gives the Bobcats a franchise-record 15th consecutive loss at home. Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with a career-best and game-high 35 points.

QUOTABLE: I've got the green light every game, it's just a matter of me making shots and making plays for my teammates. These last few games I've been struggling, especially with my shot. Guys stepped up and hit some big shots, some big threes. Marcus (Morris) and Carlos (Delfino) and those guys stepped up all night.
-- Harden.

THE STATS: The Houston Rockets rallied from a 12-point deficit to win against Charlotte. It was the eighth time this season that the Rockets have won after trailing by 10 or more points this season. They won thanks in part to their free throw shooting. Houston set season highs in makes (32) and attempts (41). Houston toot 17 more free throw attempts than Charlotte did and Harden made 21 trips, more than double his season average, to the charity stripe and knocked down 19 of them.

TURNING POINT: Houston made its come back complete early in the fourth quarter by the hands of Harden. He put the Rockets ahead for the first time with 7:57 to go on a fast break dunk at 84-83. Charlotte followed up with its first basket of the quarter nine second later before Harden added four more at the free throw line for an 88-85 advantage.

HOT: Morris came out to start the second half and validated Houston coach Kevin McHale's decision. The second-year forward scored 13 points in the second half on 4-of-5 shooting including a part of three pointers and added four rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot for the Rockets.

NOT: Charlotte is 1-18 this season when its opponent hits 10 or more three pointers in a game and Houston averages a Western Conference-best 10.0 makes from beyond the arc. The Rockets made 10 three pointers in the win Monday afternoon to continue Charlotte's misery in defending the three-point line.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Delfino is playing well of late for the Rockets. The back-up guard scored 16 points, grabbed three rebounds and had one assist. Over the last three games he's averaging 16.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal.

INSIDE THE ARENA: David Guthrie, a native Charlottean, was on the three-man refereeing crew. Former Charlotte Bobcat guard Derek Anderson was seated courtside. Bobcats played a clip of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. between first and second quarter.

ROOKIE WATCH: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist struggled for the Bobcats with foul trouble early and his stat line shoed. The rookie from Kentucky had nine points, four rebounds, one assist and one block to go along with five fouls in 24 minutes of action. Fellow rookie Jeffery Taylor had seven points and two assists off the bench. Houston rookie guard Patrick Beverly had a career-high in both points (10) and minutes (24) off the bench including a big three in the fourth quarter.

NOTABLE: Walker had career highs in points (35) and made three-point baskets (6). His 35 points was also the most tallied by a Charlotte player this season. Ramon Sessions had a season-best eight rebounds and added 19 points. Bismack Biyombo tied a career high with seven blocked shots. Hakim Warrick was in double figures for the fifth time in the last six games. Today is the 50th birthday of former Rocket Hakeem Olajuwon. Harden scored 20 points or more for the 23rd consecutive game and set career bests for both free throws made (19) and attempted (21). Chandler Parsons was in double figures for the 29th time this season. Carlos Delfino scored in double figures for the 17th time this season.

UP NEXT: For the Rockets, Wednesday vs. Denver, Friday @ New Orleans, Saturday vs. Brooklyn. For the Bobcats, Wednesday vs. Atlanta, Saturday vs. Minnesota, Monday @ Chicago.

• Rockets: Jones, White
• Bobcats: Mullens

• Rockets: Morris
• Bobcats: Walker

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #78 Scott Bolnick, #16 David Guthrie
• Attendance: 16108
• Duration: 2:18