CP3 scores 31 points in Rockets 108-96 win over the Hornets

Posted: December 14, 2017 -- 12:25 am CST.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets exploded for a 25-0 run over a 4 minutes and 32 second span to change a 24-23 lead into a 49-23 lead which, for all practical purposes, allowed the Rockets to cruise to their 11th-straight win 108-96 over the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday night.

James Harden was on the bench during the entire run. Think about that. The Rockets scored 25 consecutive points without James Harden.

During the explosion, Chris Paul was sensational. Paul scored 13 points during the run and dished out three assists for 8 more points which means Paul was responsible for 21 of the 25 points. The remaining 4 points came from an Eric Gordon free throw and a three-point basket by Gordon from a Ryan Anderson assist.

"I didn’t know that we had that until EG (Eric Gordon) was telling me," Paul said after the game. "Just our defense and with that unit that we had in, we pushed the tempo. If we are getting stops, it’s going to be tough to stop us."

The Rockets (21-4) led by as much as 24 points twice in the second quarter; however, Dwight Howard helped the Hornets outscore the Rockets 12-2 the final 4:25 of the quarter to reduce the Rockets' halftime lead to just 14 points (63-49).

"We got off to a bad start," James Harden said after the game. "We gave them a couple of open shots -- especially in that first quarter. I think at that three minute mark we got stops and Chris got hot. He was extremely aggressive. We just kind of rode that wave throughout the entire game."

Houston led by as much as 22 points in the third quarter as the Rockets outscored the Hornets 28-20 in the third quarter to lead 91-69 going into the fourth quarter. Harden scored 10 points in the quarter. Eric Gordon scored 6; and, Paul added 5.

With 4:50 remaining in the ball game, the Rockets led 104-81. Charlotte finished the game with a 15-4 run to make the final score respectable.

With tonight's win, the Rockets improve to 12-0 with Chris Paul in the lineup.

"I think we’re just playing with the right pace, the right tempo, and the right energy and it’s fun," Paul said. "I come out around the seven minute mark (in the first quarter) and then I’m on the bench. We’ve still got James (Harden), we got EG (Eric Gordon) out there, it’s fun to watch. When you go out of the game, you might not have a lead, but you come back in the game with a lead and sometimes you have a lead, then it’s increased. So, it’s nice to piggyback off of each other."

The Hornets' 96 points tonight is the seventh time out of the past 14 games the Rockets have limited the opposition to less than 100 points and the 11th time overall this season. The Rockets are 10-1 when holding opponents under 100 points this season.

Paul scored a season-high 31 points in 35 minutes. He's scored 20 plus points in four of the past five games and is averaging 23.2 points per game on 51.9% field goal shooting over that period after having 20 plus points once in his first seven games as a Rocket, averaging 11.1 points per game on 41.5% shooting. Paul also had 11 assists tonight for his fourth double-double of the season. The last Rockets player not named James Harden to post 30 plus points and 10 plus assists in a game was Jeremy Lin on November 13, 2013.

The Rockets 12 point win tonight is their 16th double-digits win this season which is tied for the ninth-most wins by 10 plus points through the first 26 games of a season in NBA history. Houston is tied for the highest point differential in the NBA this season at plus 11.0 per game.

James Harden scored 21 points in 31 minutes tonight. Harden is the seventh player to score 20 plus points in each of the first 26 games of a season dating back to the 1963-'64 season.

Houston had 24 assists with just 10 turnovers tonight. The Rockets have recorded 12 of fewer turnovers in each of the past three games after doing so once prior this season. Since Chris Paul returned to the lineup, Houston has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.81 over the past 11 games after having a 1.30 ratio the first 15 games of the season.

With 1:39 left in the second quarter, Rockets swingman Luc Mbah a Moute suffered an injury to his left shoulder after a slam dunk.

After the game, Mike D'Antoni said Luc will have an MRI on his shoulder Thursday. D'Antoni thinks Luc will miss some time; but, D'Antoni does not know how long Luc will be out of action.

"Trevor will play more minutes and that will make him happy," D'Antoni joked. "You hate to lose him (Luc); but, that's where the depth has to come in. Eric can play there. P.J. can move back to the three. So, I just hate it for him. One, personally and two, he's playing great; and, for the team, you just don't want to lose him. But, hopefully, it's only a week or two."

Former Rockets' center, Dwight Howard, scored 26 points and pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds.

The Rockets next game is Friday, December 15, versus the San Antonio Spurs. Tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

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