 it felt natural within the offense (to shoot deep 3-pointers) to give James as much space as possible,'' Anderson said. ''When we catch the ball that far from the basket that is not a shot we're afraid to take.'' Of course, the Rockets are known for their long-distance shooting.This was the 15th time in NBA history a team has attempted at least 50 3-pointers. The Rockets account for 11 of those - all since the start of last season.''We are going to take them. If that is what is available and it's a good shot then everybody has the green light,'' D'Antoni said. ''Maybe one or two guys shouldn't shoot them, but when we pass them up guys get mad at each other. So we're taking them.'' Harden admitted as much.''We're going to continue to tell everyone to shoot the ball,'' Harden said. ''We create opportunities in space, shoot it. Luc (Mbah a Moute) passed up a couple. PJ Tucker passed up a couple, even when Chris (Paul) gets back he's got to get used to shooting the ball more than he ever has. It's going to take some time but the more games we get under our belt, they'll get a feel for it.'' The Rockets hit some backbreaking clutch shots just before the shot clock expired, including Harden's 25-footer over Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from the top of the key in the third quarter.Kidd-Gilchrist had worked extremely hard denying Harden a drive and a shot, only to watch the five-time NBA All-Star elevate and drain a jumper in his grill one second before the buzzer sounded.''Harden and Gordon both made a couple of shots where there was just nothing you could do - but that's just part of playing them,'' Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.The Rockets took advantage of the Hornets' cold shooting in the first half and built a 10-point lead at halftime. The Hornets started the second half on an 8-0 run but could never get the lead and the Rockets pulled away in the fourth quarter.Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points, and Dwight Howard had another strong game with 19 points and 16 rebounds against his former team. It's the fifth straight game Howard has recorded at least 15 rebounds, a new Hornets record.TIP-INSRockets: Outscored the Hornets 29-16 in the second quarter and held the Hornets to 4 of 22 shooting from the field. ... Paul, Nene and Trevor Ariza did not play due to injuries.Hornets: Shot 31.3 percent from the field in the first half. ... Howard recorded his 670th career double-double. ... Nic Batum, Cody Zeller, Michael Carter-Williams, Treveon Graham and Julyan Stone did not play due to injuries.FOULING HOWARD:Howard's poor free throw shooting - he was 5 of 15 - cost the Hornets points and momentum. Anderson admitted the Rockets fouled the big man on purpose in the fourth quarter. Howard is now 16 of 40 from the stripe this season, well below his career mark of 56.5 percent.At one point in the second quarter Howard made both free throw attempts - banking the second one off the glass - and crowd erupted in a sarcastic cheer.STAGNANT OFFENSE: Guard Jeremy Lamb, who is starting for Batum, felt like the Hornets got stagnant on offense.''Bigs, we have to do a better job of screening and creating action and creating indecision I guess on the defensive part,'' Lamb said. ''We didn't do a good job with the switching.'' UP NEXTRockets: At Memphis on Saturday night.Hornets: Host Orlando on Sunday night.---More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball)
Oct 27, 2017 Dwight Howard goes up against one of his former teams Friday night when his new club, the Charlotte Hornets, hosts the Houston Rockets.Both teams are coming off wins on Wednesday. The Rockets opened a three-game trip with a 105-104 victory at Philadelphia, while the Hornets tipped off a three-game homestand with a 110-93 rout of the Denver Nuggets.Howard was one of the driving forces in Charlotte's win, contributing 15 points and 19 rebounds.He enters the Friday night game with a run of four straight contests with 15 or more rebounds, the longest streak for a Hornet since Emeka Okafor had a four-game run in February 2007.The Hornets (2-2) complemented Howard by 13-for-30 shooting (43.3 percent) on 3-point attempts and adding 49 points off the bench to remain unbeaten in two home games this season."That was the most balanced and well-rounded game we've played so far," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said afterward. "We had better readiness to start." The Rockets (4-1) saved their best for the end Wednesday at Philadelphia, getting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Eric Gordon to steal the one-point win.Gordon had 29 points and James Harden 27 for the Rockets, but neither shot well from long distance in the game. Gordon went just 5-for-16 from beyond the arc, Harden 2-for-8.Center Clint Capela provided a much-needed assist around the hoop, recording 16 points and 20 rebounds."For us to be a good team," Gordon said after the thrilling win, "we have to win games like this." The victory improved the Rockets to 3-0 on the road. They wrap up their current trip Saturday at Memphis, completing their second back-to-back of the early season.Houston earlier swept games at Golden State and Sacramento on a back-to-back.The Rockets won a pair from the Hornets last season, outscoring them 39-24 on 3-pointers in a 107-95 victory in their only visit to Charlotte.Houston will attempt to duplicate the feat without two of its best perimeter threats, with Chris Paul (strained left knee) and Trevor Ariza (sprained left foot) out of action.Howard played three seasons for the Rockets, averaging 16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds. The eight-time All-Star is the NBA's active rebound leader with 12,160.He shocked even the Hornets' home fans with 7-for-11 accuracy at the free-throw line Wednesday, after having endured the third-worst foul-shooting performance in NBA history (0-for-9) in a loss Monday at Milwaukee.Howard never played college ball, but one of his teammates who did, rookie Malik Monk, was inspired by the sight of his former coach at the Wednesday game.With Kentucky's John Calipari on hand, Monk exploded for 17 points after having totaled just 13 points in his first three NBA games.Monk set a Kentucky single-game scoring record (47 points) last December en route to winning the Jerry West Award as the NCAA's premier shooting guard.Coincidentally, Roy Williams, the coach against whom Monk set that record, also was on hand for the Wednesday game. He was there to watch two of his former North Carolina players, Marvin Williams and Marcus Paige, who combined for nine points and six rebounds to help the Hornets' cause.
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