Houston Rockets (34-20) beat Charlotte Hornets (26-30) 105-101 on the road on Thursday, February 19, after falling far behind. The Rockets were down 9 at one quarter break and still finished 4 ahead.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Hornets struck first, taking the opening quarter 33-24 and a 9-point lead after one. The Rockets moved in front with a 29-19 second quarter, carrying a 1-point lead into halftime.
The Rockets won the third 27-26 to create some separation, taking a 2-point lead into the fourth. The Rockets took the fourth 25-23; the Rockets finished the job for a 105-101 regulation win.
What flipped it
The Rockets took better care of the ball, turning it over on 11.7% of possessions compared with 16.7% for the Hornets. The Rockets got more from their shots, finishing at 54.7% effective field-goal shooting compared with 51.2% for the Hornets. In a 4-point game, those extra possessions were crucial.
The Hornets did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 27.9% against 19%. The Rockets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 95 possessions per team, the Rockets produced 110.7 points per 100 possessions to 106.5 for the Hornets.
Who carried the comeback
Kevin Durant was the game's biggest individual force for HOU: 35 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk on 14-20 shooting. His Game Score of 32.7 led everyone. His team was -4 with him on the floor.
Grant Williams led the Hornets with 20 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast on 7-10 shooting, good for a 18.8 Game Score.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Rockets entered with about a 35% chance.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, Charlotte Hornets lead 2-1.
The Rockets are now 34-20, and the Hornets are 26-30. The Rockets last five before this game: L-L-W-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.