National Basketball Association
Charlotte 125, Houston 109
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 12, 2016
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Officials: #44 Eli Roe, #28 Kevin Scott, #4 Sean Wright
Attendance: 19303

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It just keeps getting better and better for the Charlotte Hornets.

The Hornets rolled to their seventh straight victory on Saturday night by routing the Houston Rockets 125-109, and it was yet another impressive offensive performance.

Kemba Walker scored 26 points and Marvin Williams added 25, and the Hornets shot 54.5 percent from the field collectively with 15 3-pointers.

Coach Steve Clifford said after Friday's 118-103 win over Detroit that the Hornets were playing as well in stretches as they have all season, and he echoed those sentiments again Saturday night.

It capped a perfect 4-0 week in which the Hornets beat Minnesota, New Orleans, Detroit and Houston by a combined 45 points. They averaged 118.2 points in the four wins.

"That was a great week," Clifford said. "To come back tonight and find the energy we had in the second half, I just thought our guys took it to a different level. We play stretches of games where we're so good, you can just see it. So it's a great win and obviously it was a terrific week."

The Hornets (37-28) have now won 13 of their last 15. The seven-game winning streak is the longest for the franchise since 2002.

"We're doing a great job of setting screens, getting people open," Williams said. "Guys are doing a great job of penetrating, making shots. We're moving the ball. When we move the ball we have a lot of options. A lot of guys can score. We're doing a great job of playing together. Hopefully we can keep it rolling."

The Hornets led by as many as 19 in the first half, but saw the lead dwindle to two late in the third quarter. They pulled back away by scoring the first nine points of the fourth quarter and eventually turned it into a 17-2 run.

"We won tonight because of our offense obviously, but the opening of the fourth quarter was all about good defense and rebounding," Clifford said.

Walker added, "We just get better as the game goes on. The fourth quarter is one of the most important quarters, of course. We just got locked in."

Walker, who had a streak of four straight games of 30 points or more snapped on Friday night, finished 11-of-16 from the field and four of seven from 3-point range. Williams, who led the way with 22 on Friday night, followed it up by going nine of 16 from the field. He scored 14 in the first quarter.

The Hornets also got 16 points from Jeremy Lin, 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from Nic Batum, 12 points from Courtney Lee, and 10 points and 10 rebounds from Al Jefferson.

The Rockets (33-33) had a three-game winning streak snapped. They were finishing up a five-game road trip and they could never get the usually reliable James Harden going.

Harden, who came into the game averaging 29.0 points per game, finished with 12 points on two of 14 shooting from the field. He didn't have a field goal in the first half.

Corey Brewer led the Rockets with 21 points. Dwight Howard finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds, Michael Beasley scored 15, and Jason Terry scored 11.

"We were not able to get it done," Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "I thought we fought hard, but we just did not have it. They gave it what they had, but I think tonight was just one of those nights that they didn't have it."

The Rockets were just five-of-26 from 3-point range.

"You can tell the guys are a little tired," Brewer said. "But we needed this win tonight. There are no exceptions. We need to win. We've got a game on Monday night we've got to get."

NOTES: Both teams were playing on the second night of back-to-backs, after winning on Friday night. The Rockets won at Boston 102-98, while the Hornets beat Detroit 118-103. … The Rockets play an NBA-high 20 sets of back-to-backs this season. Charlotte plays only 15. … The Rockets had beaten the Hornets 10 straight times over the past five seasons before Saturday night. They won the only previous game this season, 102-95 in Houston on Dec. 21. … The Rockets were without F Terrence Jones (upper respiratory infection). … Hornets G Kemba Walker hit four 3-pointers to tie Glen Rice for second place on the franchise's career 3-point list with 508. The career leader is Dell Curry with 929. … The Hornets have scored at least 60 points in the first half of each of their last three games. They're 11-0 this season when scoring at least 60 in the first half. … The Hornets were playing the fifth game on a seven-game home stand. They will host Dallas on Monday. … The Rockets were playing the final game of a five-game road trip. They will return home to face Memphis on Monday.
Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Charlotte
Corey Brewer 21 Scoring Kemba Walker 26
James Harden 10 Assists Nicolas Batum 8
Dwight Howard 13 Rebounds Al Jefferson 10
James Harden 8 Free Throws Made Jeremy Lin 7
Trevor Ariza 2 Steals Marvin Williams 2
Patrick Beverley 2 Blocks Al Jefferson 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 109 46.2 5-26 18-28 21 40 5 8 9
Charlotte 125 54.5 15-31 14-16 28 44 5 6 12
Upcoming Games
  • Charlotte will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Hornets have a W/L % of .611 after a win and .517 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game at home against Memphis. The Rockets have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .455 after a loss.