Hawks-Rockets Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Dec 30 2012 4:08PM

If Josh Smith misses another game, the Atlanta Hawks will still have plenty of confidence in their offense as they open their trip.

That doesn't bode well for a Houston Rockets team giving up points - and giving the ball away - at an alarming rate.

Going for just its third win in Houston in 21 years, Atlanta will try to extend its winning streak to five on Monday night when these teams close out 2012 and their season series.

Without Smith - the team's leading scorer at 16.6 points per game - who aggravated a hip flexor in Friday's 102-94 victory at Cleveland, and Devin Harris (sore left foot) and Anthony Morrow (strained right hip), the short-handed Hawks (19-9) defeated Indiana 109-100 on Saturday.

"Guys scored some key points," said center Al Horford, who finished with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists despite playing with a right hip contusion. "We got stops when we needed to. That was a game where we got better."

The Hawks would obviously prefer to have Smith back as they open their three-game stretch outside Atlanta, but Zaza Pachulia has been more than a capable backup, averaging 8.4 points and 9.1 rebounds in seven starts this season after scoring 17 with a season high-tying 14 boards on Saturday.

"Zaza is going to do whatever it takes to be ready, whether he starts or whether he comes in off the bench," coach Larry Drew told the Hawks' official website.

First-year Hawks guard Lou Williams - last year's runner-up to Houston's James Harden for Sixth Man of the Year honors - is proving to be an effective starter. Since Drew inserted Williams into the starting shooting guard spot four games ago, he is averaging 17.8 points and 6.5 assists after scoring 21 with a career-best 12 assists on Saturday.

Atlanta is scoring 107.3 points per game on 49.8 percent field-goal shooting during its surge.

While the Hawks are going for their first five-game win streak since a season-best six-game stretch spanning Nov. 16-28, the Rockets (16-14) are in bounce-back mode after a pair of setbacks.

Coming off a 122-116 loss at San Antonio on Friday that ended its season-best five-game winning streak, Houston suffered its most lopsided home loss in three seasons on Saturday, 124-94 to Oklahoma City.

It's the first time the Rockets have surrendered 120 in back-to-back games since a three-game stretch from April 7-11, 1995.

"We're going to go through tough times like this," forward Chandler Parsons told the Rockets' official website. "We're going to go through great stretches like we just went through but we're going to learn and get better together."

The Rockets have to get better with the basketball after committing a season-high 24 turnovers in each of the last two games. Harden and Jeremy Lin each have a team-high nine during that stretch.

Harden, though, has reached the 20-point plateau in a career-best 12 consecutive games. The last Rocket to have a stretch that long was Yao Ming, who reached 20 in 14 straight from Feb. 22-March 20, 2006.

Harden netted a career-high 45 points as the visiting Rockets won their fourth in this row series on Nov. 2, 109-102.

Houston has won two straight at home over Atlanta after posting a 95-84 victory last New Year's Eve.

Rockets bounce back with 123-104 win over Hawks

By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Posted Dec 31 2012 10:20PM

HOUSTON (AP) The Houston Rockets had allowed 120 points in consecutive tough losses entering Monday night's game against Atlanta.

This time it was Houston's turn to put on an offensive show that left the other team at a loss.

James Harden had 28 points and the Rockets rebounded from their worst loss of the season with a 123-104 win over the Hawks.

The Rockets were coming off a 30-point defeat by Oklahoma City that was preceded by a loss to the Spurs.

On Monday night they used a 16-0 run in the second quarter to build a big lead and hold on for the win.

"We really moved the ball well obviously shooting 61 percent in the first half," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We made a ton of shots. We moved the ball really well and attacked."

Lou Williams had 21 points to lead the Hawks, who saw a four game winning streak snapped with the loss.

"Houston's shooting pretty much sums it up," Atlanta's Josh Smith said. "They got on a streak where they couldn't miss."

Houston was up by 15 points in the fourth quarter before Atlanta used a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 102-97 with about five minutes remaining. Carlos Delfino scored five quick points after that, before a three-point play by Harden extended Houston's lead to 110-97 less than a minute and a half later.

The Rockets had a nice play soon after that when Harden stole the ball from John Jenkins and passed to Marcus Morris, who found Omer Asik on an alley-oop dunk.

"We had two kind of bad losses and we needed to come back and play our brand of basketball and do whatever it takes to get a victory," Harden said.

McHale had implored his team to take better care of the ball after having 24 turnovers in each of the last two games. He seemed to have gotten through to his young team, as the Rockets had just nine, despite the Hawks entering the game forcing more than 16 a game.

"It was big for us," McHale said of limiting their turnovers. "We just can't afford to turn the ball over. If we don't do that and we make just good and simply plays, usually we can get some pretty good shots with some movement, and our guys knocked them down tonight."

Atlanta led by one point early in the second quarter before Houston used a 16-0 run to take a 46-31 lead 6 1/2 minutes before halftime. The run started with three straight 3-pointers by Houston. Delfino made the first and third ones and Patrick Patterson sunk the second one. But Houston wasn't done with its 3-point barrage, and Tony Douglas ended the run with another 3.

The Hawks missed seven shots in that span as they went more than four minutes without scoring.

Atlanta finally found some offense after that, but the Rockets didn't slow down and had soon extended their lead to 60-40 after a pair of free throws by Harden with about two minutes left in the second quarter.

Harden made a 3-pointer just before halftime to leave Houston up 64-46.

Houston has won five straight over Atlanta, including a 109-102 win earlier this season when Harden had a career-high 45 points. He wasn't as dominant this time, but was still able to extend his career-long streak of games with 20-plus points to 13 games.

"Houston is a very hard team for us to match up with," Atlanta coach Larry Drew said. "We have a hard time defending this team."

Smith scored 17 with seven rebounds in his return after missing a game with a hip injury, and Al Horford had 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Delfino returned from a two-game absence with an illness to score a season-high 22 points, with six 3-pointers, and a career-high-tying eight assists. Asik added 11 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets and Jeremy Lin added 16 points with eight assists.

Houston was up by eight with about two minutes left in the third quarter before the Rockets used a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 90-73. Delfino got it going with a 3-pointer and also had a layup in that span.

The Hawks used an 18-8 spurt in the first half of the third quarter to cut Houston's lead to 72-64. Atlanta shook off a second quarter where it shot just 29.2 percent by making three, 3-pointers to start the second half.

NOTES: Drew said that Devin Harris (sore left foot) and Anthony Morrow (right hip strain) aren't with the team and are both out until the team returns home on Saturday. He said he'd have an update on their status when they get back to Atlanta. ... The Hawks made 12 3-pointers for their franchise-record fourth consecutive game with at least 10 3-pointers. ... Smith had four blocks on Monday to move past Pau Gasol into 43rd place in NBA history with 1,365 blocks.

Notebook: Rockets 123, Hawks 104

Matt Miller, For NBA.com
Posted Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:48 PM - Updated Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:48 PM

THE FACTS: The Houston Rockets were happy to see veteran wing Carlos Delfino bolster their bench with his return from a two-game absence. They just had no idea he would make such a huge impact in his first outing since recovering from food poisoning.

Delfino made several clutch plays during the final quarter and a half, en route to posting season highs of 22 points and eight assists to help Houston hold off the Atlanta Hawks 123-104 Monday at Toyota Center. James Harden led the surging Rockets (17-14), who closed 2012 by winning six of their last eight games, with 28 points.

Lou Williams continued his torrid stretch since joining the Hawks' starting lineup, netting 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Al Horford added a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta (19-10), which lost for the first time in five games.

QUOTABLE: "It was all about team basketball. We shared the ball. We passed the ball. We found the open guy. When we're hitting shots and playing together, it's much easier."

-- Carlos Delfino

TURNING POINT: Atlanta's jump shots fell during the early stages of Monday's contest, as it nailed 11 of its 21 field-goal attempts in the opening quarter to grab a 27-26 lead. But Houston continued to keep the Hawks' offense out of the paint while stretching their defense in transition with scorching 3-point shooting and strong drives, leading to a 32-10 run that gave the Rockets a 58-37 advantage.

THE STAT: Delfino's aim was deadly when Houston needed it most. After the Hawks trimmed an 18-point halftime deficit to 81-73, 90-81, and then 102-97, respectively, Delfino provided the heroics by draining three key 3-pointers as Houston snapped a two-game skid.

HOT: Houston was unconscious over the first 10 minutes of the second period, burying 13 of the team's 17 field-goal attempts -- including 5-for-7 shooting from behind the arc -- while outscoring the Hawks 34-13. The Rockets finished the game 45-for-84 (53.6 percent) from the floor, becoming only the third Hawks' opponent this season to hit at least half of their shots.

QUOTABLE II: "Houston's shooting pretty much sums it up. They got on a streak where they couldn't miss. Delfino shot the ball extremely well. We wanted to make them beat us on the perimeter, and when it rains, it pours. Their shooting got everyone else playing confidently."

-- Josh Smith

NOT: Atlanta's Jeff Teague, who entered Monday averaging 21.0 points on 53.1 percent (17-for-32) shooting over his last two games, delivered a dreadful offensive performance. The fourth-year point guard finished with only 10 points on 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) shooting.

GOOD MOVE: The Rockets' reserves fed off each others' energy by sharing the ball, crashing the boards as a gang and utilizing communication on the defensive end to keep Atlanta's offense in check. In addition to handing out five more assists (13-8) and scoring 14 more points (49-35) than the Hawks' bench, Houston's backups connected on 10 of their 15 (66.7 percent) attempts from long distance.

BAD MOVE: During the second quarter, the Rockets ripped off a 16-0 run with their best player, Harden, sitting on the bench. Hawks coach Larry Drew used only one timeout to try to slow Houston's overwhelming momentum. With his team throwing away the ball, settling for deep jump shots and scrambling to defend the Rockets' ball movement, Drew and his staff could have used another break in the action to try to get his players on the same page again.

NOTABLE: Smith (hip) returned to the Hawks' lineup after missing Saturday's victory over Indiana. ... Atlanta remains without starting point guard Devin Harris and reserve guard Anthony Morrow, neither of whom traveled with the team on its two-game road trip that ends Tuesday in New Orleans. "We won't know how long [they will be out] until we get back [to Atlanta]," Drew said. "We're still just treating both guys." ... Atlanta set a franchise record, extending its streak of consecutive games with at least 10 3-point field goals to four. ... The Hawks have dropped their last five meetings with Houston. ... Smith is 12 rebounds shy of reaching 5,000 for his career. ... The Rockets, who improved to 7-1 this season when they bury at least 40.0 percent of their 3-point attempts, matched their franchise record for most made treys at Toyota Center (16). ... Houston shot a season-high 61.5 percent over the opening two periods while recording its 13th 60-point half of the season. ... The Rockets improved to 12-2 against the Eastern Conference.

UP NEXT: For the Hawks, Tuesday @ New Orleans, Friday @ Detroit, Saturday vs. Boston. For the Rockets, Wednesday vs. New Orleans, Friday @ Milwaukee, Saturday @ Cleveland.

• Hawks: Harris
• Rockets: Jones, White

• Hawks: --
• Rockets: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #42 Eric Lewis, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 18160
• Duration: 2:01