[19-7] Houston Rockets 102-89 Golden State Warriors [13-11]
Shane Battier again contributing under the radar. | Finally a game high that doesn't belong to Kevin Martin. Monta Ellis went for 30.Houston dominated the inside in this one, scoring 52 points in the paint which led to 47% shooting from the field.
Luis Scola contributed a bunch of those points on the inside. After having a terrible week last week, Scola has rebounded with a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double against Golden State. With an aggressive Scola, the Rockets were in control of the interior all game.
Kevin Martin went about his normal routine scoring a team high 26 points, which is uncharacteristically low if you base it on some of the most recent games. He also had four boards and four assists to go along with that.
Shane Battier shot 5/8 from the field en route to 11 points.
For Golden State, only
Monta Ellis and
Dorell Wright gave the effort on offense. Ellis had a game high 30, while Wright had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, shooting an efficient 7/13 from the field.
Stephen Curry and
David Lee scored 12 and 11 respectively, the former shooting a sub-par 5/15, and the latter suffered from foul trouble.
After a relatively close first half, Houston went on a brutal 21-6 run in the third quarter to pull away for good. Golden State had 12 steals but it was still not enough to keep up with the faster-paced Rockets.
Key Performers:Rockets:Kevin Martin - 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 9/19 FG, 7/7 FT
Luis Scola - 21 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 9/15 FG, 3/4 FT
Shane Battier - 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 5/8 FG
Yao Ming - 10 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 5/11 FG
Kyle Lowry - 9 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 3/9 FG
Warriors:Monta Ellis - 30 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 12/26 FG
Dorell Wright - 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 7/13 FG
Stephen Curry - 12 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 5/15 FG, 2/4 3P
David Lee - 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 5/7 FG
Enes Kanter - 7 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3/13 FG
30 21 30 21 102
22 21 21 25 89[20-7] Houston Rockets 102-105 Los Angeles Lakers [11-15]
Kevin Martin knocks down a desperation trey. | Luis Scola came up with a huge double-double.
Kobe scored 26 points in the second half. | Andrew Bynum also had himself a monstrous double-double.This game came down to the fourth quarter, and that's where the Lakers took complete control. Early on, Los Angeles was bringing it to the Rockets by forcing them to cough up the ball and bad shots.
Kobe Bryant hit his first five shots to propel the Lakers to an early lead. The Rockets offered quite a bit of resistance however, as they countered with a 9-0 run to take their first lead. The Rockets barely edged out the Lakers in the first quarter, 23-21.
The second quarter was a game of runs, as the Lakers went on an 18-6 run to take control of the game again, but Houston would counter with an 18-6 run of their own to push for a five-point lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Bryant brought forth a 16-point effort, but even with that, the Lakers still found themselves down.
Kevin Martin had an 11-point quarter, as he would finish with a game high 39 points with an added five assists and four boards. Bryant would finish with 38 points.
The fourth quarter was a showdown to behold. A three-point play from
Lamar Odom and a monstrous dunk from
Andrew Bynum got Los Angeles pumped for a huge comeback, eventually retaking the lead with about seven minutes left in the game. Next was a bunch of back and forth action between both squads, with neither team able to grip the lead. After Martin gave the Rockets the lead at 95-93 with an easy jumpshot, Bryant answered back with a three-pointer to electrify the entire Staples Center to give the Lakers a 96-95 lead.
After failing to score on their possession, the Rockets gave up an easy layup to Bryant as the Lakers gained a slightly more comfortable lead at 98-95. Martin converted two free throws and an added bucket to have his Rockets up 99-98.
On the next possession, Odom was fouled by Martin, and converted both free throws to give the Lakers a 100-99 lead. Failing to convert another bucket, Houston was forced to foul as they sent rookie
Xavier Nelson to the line, who would knock down five out of six in crunch time. Martin scored an improbable three to bring the Rockets to within one, but Nelson kept his cool at the foul line to seal the win for Los Angeles.
Key Performers:Rockets:Kevin Martin - 39 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 14/23 FG, 2/4 3P, 9/9 FT
Luis Scola - 15 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 6/13 FG, 3/3 FT
Courtney Lee - 12 points, 3 rebounds, 4/5 FG, 3/3 FT
Yao Ming - 11 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 5/9 FG
Kyle Lowry - 11 points, 11 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 4/9 FG
Lakers:Kobe Bryant - 38 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 16/25 FG, 5/5 FT
Andrew Bynum - 26 points, 17 rebounds, 12/26 FG
Xavier Nelson - 21 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 7/19 FG, 1/6 3P, 6/8 FT
Lamar Odom - 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4/6 FG, 3/3 FT
23 27 25 27 102
21 24 24 36 105[20-8] Houston Rockets 112-85 Sacramento Kings [16-13]
Play of the Game: Chuck Hayes hits a turnaround jumper. | Kyrie Irving led a futile effort for the Kings.The jumpshot wasn't falling for the Rockets, but then, how were they able to not only win this game, but blow out the Sacramento Kings? All game long, they were looking for points inside, and their season high 66 points in the paint reflects that. Not only that, the starters were shooting terribly (with the exception of
Shane Battier and
Yao Ming) from the field. That is where the bench was given the spotlight and green light to score 43 points, a season high. Despite their lack of the jumpshot, Houston still shot 48% from the field.
"
We were missing two key players we were used to playing alongside this game," said
Shane Battier. "
We lacked one player we need to get used to playing," he continued, referring to
Goran Dragic. Dragic was not available to play in this game, as he was still getting prepared to change teams. He will play next game against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Things went well for the Kings in the beginning, as they mounted an 14-0 run to counter Houston's 18-8 start, but afterwards fell short shooting just 39% from the field.
Kyrie Irving was a big factor with a team high 23 points and eight assists.
Jason Thompson played well with 16 points (6/8 shooting) and 11 boards, but he had a terrible six turnovers.
Tyreke Evans was the next double-digit scorer with 15.
Speaking of double-digit scorers, Houston only had two of them,
Kevin Martin and
Luis Scola. Martin had a game high 36, but on an atrocious 12/28 shooting, while Scola had 12. Additionally, all 12 of Houston's players scored three points or more, which shows the all-around team performance in this one.
Key Performers:Rockets:Kevin Martin - 36 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 12/28 FG, 11/11 FT
Luis Scola - 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 4/10 FG
Terrence Williams - 9 points, 1 block, 4/5 FG
Shane Battier - 9 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 4/7 FG
Chuck Hayes - 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3/3 FG
Yao Ming - 9 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 4/6 FG
Patrick Patterson - 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 3/6 FG
Kyle Lowry - 3 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, 1/7 FG
Kings:Kyrie Irving - 23 points, 8 assists, 1 rebound, 5 steals, 9/22 FG, 4/4 FT
Jason Thompson - 16 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6 TO, 6/8 FG, 4/4 FT
Tyreke Evans - 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 6/21 FG
Jeff Green - 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 4/13 FG
27 30 25 30 112
26 21 17 21 85