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Saturday, Jan. 27 8:00pm ET
Rockets contribute to Hornets' skid

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The Charlotte Hornets are inching closer and closer toward the panic button.

The Hornets continued their fall from the top of the Central Division standings with a 110-97 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, Charlotte's 12th defeat in 16 games.

"We need to work on some things," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "I don't want to get into what, but there are some things we need to discuss."

Since a seven-game winning streak gave Charlotte a 3½-game lead in the division on Dec. 27, the Hornets have fallen apart.

Before Wednesday's win over New York, their only wins have come against lowly Chicago (twice) and the Los Angeles Clippers. And they've fallen four games behind division-leading Milwaukee.

Now, as they head West for a four-game swing against some of the top teams in the Western Conference, Charlotte is looking for answers.

"I don't know what kind of changes Coach has in mind, but all of us should be open to suggestions," forward Jamal Mashburn said. "Not one of us, me included, can say they are playing well and we need to figure out why."

Against the Rockets, the Hornets failed to play defense while giving up a season-high 110 points. Charlotte allowed Houston to shoot a season-high 58 percent while putting five players in double figures.

"A lot of teams can score, but not a lot can play defense," Charlotte's P.J. Brown said. "We were playing pretty good defense earlier this season and prided ourselves on it. That's what we have to get back to."

While its defense was suspect, Charlotte's offense was pretty good -- the Hornets shot 51 percent despite an 11-point second quarter.

"You figure you shoot 50 percent, you'll take that any day," center Elden Campbell said. "But it doesn't matter if you let them hit everything they throw up."

That they did, as Houston was shooting as high as 62 percent late in the third quarter. They rallied from eight down in the second quarter, using a 28-6 run over the last 9:41 of the period to take a 56-42 lead into halftime.

"In a span of nine minutes, we gain 20 points," said Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "That was just about as good as we've played all year."

Cuttino Mobley led the Rockets with 23 points. Steve Francis had 20 points and 10 assists and gave Houston its largest lead of the night with 9:42 to play when his free throw made it 93-71.

But the Hornets mounted a strong rally to get back in the game.

Charlotte scored 14 straight points -- six from Derrick Coleman -- to pull within 93-85 with 5:36 to play.

But that's the closest Charlotte would get, as Houston used sharp shooting and aggressive drives to the basket to hang on for the victory.

Walt Williams twice pushed Houston's lead back into double digits by hitting 3-pointers, and Francis went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch.

"The guards were just finding me tonight and I was able to knock down my shots," Williams said.

Maurice Taylor and Williams each scored 18 for the Rockets, while Kenny Thomas added 10.

David Wesley led the Hornets with 25 points. Mashburn had 20 and Coleman scored 17 -- 10 in the fourth quarter. Baron Davis had 12 assists.

Houston outscored the Hornets 46-22 in the paint and scored 29 points off 15 Charlotte turnovers.

Game notes
The Hornets are marketing Davis for the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. The club is distributing lists of the second-year guard's accomplishments this season. ... Francis, who played at Maryland, stopped at the scorers table several times during the game for updates on the eighth-ranked Terrapins' 98-96 overtime loss to No. 2 Duke. ... Wesley made six of his seven shots in the first quarter.


ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Houston Clubhouse

Charlotte Clubhouse

RECAPS
San Antonio 99
Utah 86

Toronto 90
Chicago 80

Minnesota 93
Portland 80

Miami 81
Orlando 59

Houston 110
Charlotte 97

Atlanta 101
Cleveland 90

Washington 89
Phoenix 82

Detroit 108
Milwaukee 103

Denver 102
Dallas 100

Seattle 106
New Jersey 97

Sacramento 101
LA Clippers 89

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Rudy Tomjanovich Official Site

Baron Davis Official Site


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