Kevin Martin leads Houston Rockets to 119-114 win over Atlanta Hawks
Kevin Martin scored a game-high 35 points as the Houston Rockets overcame the Atlanta Hawks 119-114 at Toyota Centre on Sunday night. The result meant that the Rockets managed to break Atlanta's four-game winning streak. However, the Hawks are still in fifth
position in the Eastern Conference standings.
Atlanta are four games behind the Orlando Magic and four games in front of the Philadelphia 76ers in the East.
Chuck Hayes contributed 19 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals for Houston, who have won eight of their last 10 games. The 25-year-old Kyle Lowry chipped in with 17 points and eight assists for the Rockets, who won their 24th home
game of the season.
Forward Luis Scola scored 15 points and six rebounds while Chase Budinger added 11 points in the Rockets second consecutive victory. Six of Atlanta's players scored in double figures. Joe Johnson posted a team-high 25 points, seven assists and four rebounds
in the losing effort.
Josh Smith tallied 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Jamal Crawford came off the bench with 15 points for Atlanta. Centre-forward Al Horford finished with 14 points and Marvin Williams had 11 points for the Hawks, who have lost five of their
last 10 games.
Match Analysis
The Hawks took a 10-9 lead in the first five minutes of the first quarter. However, the Rockets answered with a 10-2 run to carry a 19-12 advantage. Houston regained their shooting touch to tie the game at 21-21 with just one minute to go in the quarter.
Zaza Pachulia then broke the deadlock with a lay-up shot at the buzzer to give the Hawks a 23-21 edge into the second.
Atlanta and Houston started strongly in the second quarter, but the Hawks once again made it to the free throw line consistently, taking a 63-54 lead at half time.
The Rockets cut the deficit to 65-61 early in the third quarter but Hinrich hit jump shots and a three-pointer to put Atlanta ahead by 72-61 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the quarter. Houston turned it on and outplayed the Hawks 32-18, converting
the nine-point halftime deficit into an 86-81 lead at the end of three quarters.
Atlanta silenced the chorus of boos in the fourth quarter as they bridged the gap successfully to make it a one-point contest at 110-109 with just 15 seconds to go. However, the Rockets scored four unanswered points in the closing seconds to seal the victory.
Houston are now just three games behind the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets for eighth position in the Western Conference. The 30-year-old Houston forward, Scola, was confident with the victory and said that his side would try their best to win
the upcoming games.
He said, "Every game now is huge for us. We just want to stay alive. You do not know what is going to happen. We cannot control New Orleans or Memphis. We are going to keep playing hard and try to keep winning games."
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