The Houston Rockets survived a back-and-forth battle with the Charlotte Hornets by defeating the home team, 118-113, Wednesday night.
James Harden led Houston in scoring with 30 points and seven assists but struggled from the field. Harden shot 10-29 from the field and 1-11 from three-point land. Houston had plenty of scoring support beyond Harden with Clint Capela racking up a 23 point, 17 rebound double-double. Chris Paul had 17 points and 10 assists, PJ Tucker scored 15 and Gerald Green came off the bench with 15 points.
Houston squandered a 15 point first-half lead when the Hornets went on a 28-6 run to end the 2nd quarter. Charlotte would eventually be up by 12 but the Rockets put together an 18-4 run in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
The Rockets will take on the Miami Heat in game two of a back-to-back Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm CT.