Kevin Martin leads Houston Rockets to 131–112 win over the Golden State Warriors
Kevin Martin scored a team-high 34 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors 131 –112 at the Toyota Center on Wednesday night.
It was a playoff-like atmosphere in Houston as the Rockets won their fifth-straight home game, while the Warriors suffered their sixth consecutive loss. Even though Houston have a 12-3 record in their last 15 games, they are still two games behind eighth-place
Memphis in the Western Conference.
Rockets coach Rick Adelman praised his team’s attitude after the win. He said, "These guys, they're laying it out on the line. Everything they've got, they're laying it out there right now. They know what's ahead of them, they know what's going on and they're
busting their tails. I think that's the difference. The attitude is we're going to do whatever it takes to win the game."
The first quarter was a close contested, as both teams traded baskets early on. However, the Rockets found their rhythm later on in the game, and there was no way back for the Warriors after that. Houston led 36-33 at the end of the first period.
With both teams shooting more than 50 percent from the floor, it was bound to be a score-fest from the start. Courtney Lee and Kevin Martin were impressive from behind the three-point stripe with a combined score of 27 points on long-distance shots. They
went 9-for-15 from beyond the arc to give the Rockets an edge over the Warriors.
The second quarter saw the Rockets extend their lead to 66–57 with Martin scoring 11 points and Lee adding eight in the period. Monta Ellis converted two free-throws to cut the Rocket lead to 83–76 with less than six minutes left in the third quarter. However,
the Rockets immediately countered with a 9-0 run to take control of the game and took their lead to 92-76.
Courtney Lee scored 25; Luis Scola added 20 and 10 boards while Kyle Lowry contributed with 13 points and 12 assists for Houston. Meanwhile, Chuck Hayes posted a triple-double to fire up the Rockets with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Rockets led 100–85 at the start of the fourth and maintained their advantage to finish it with a 19-point rout. Dorell Wright was the top-scorer for Golden State with 34 points on 14-of-21 shooting.
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