Houston Rockets Blog – Page 45 – NBA Blog

New guys lift Wolves to 92-79 win over Rockets

Chris Johnson arrived in Minnesota on Friday night just hoping to provide a little bit of energy and make a solid impression in his latest effort to catch on with an NBA team.

About 24 hours later, he was hearing chants of ”M-V-P! M-V-P!” and teaming with another new face to carry the Timberwolves to a much-needed victory.

Johnson and Mickael Gelabale signed 10-day contracts on Saturday morning, then scored the first 23 points of the fourth quarter to lift the Timberwolves to a 92-79 victory over the slumping Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Johnson, signed from Santa Cruz of the NBA Development League, scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth. Gelabale, a forward who arrived from France on Thursday, had 10 of his 11 points in the final 12 minutes to help the injury-plagued Wolves snap a five-game skid…

James Harden scored 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting for the Rockets, who have lost seven straight games. Houston shot 32 percent and committed 20 turnovers in another lethargic effort that had coach Kevin McHale scrambling to find anybody who could give them some energy.

The Rockets starters shot 25.5 percent for the game and Harden is shooting 28 percent (23 for 80) over the last three games…

Andrei Kirilenko had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Luke Ridnour scored 16 points for the Timberwolves, who had lost each of their previous five by double digits and were playing with just nine healthy bodies…

The Wolves were missing C Nikola Pekovic (bruised right quad), F Dante Cunningham (illness), G Alexey Shved (ankle), F Kevin Love (hand), F Chase Budinger (knee), G Brandon Roy (knee), F Josh Howard (knee) and G Malcolm Lee (hip).

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Paul George leads Pacers past Rockets 105-95

Paul George made everything look easy Friday night.

Scoring, rebound, playing defense, even winning seems second-nature to the Pacers’ budding star these days.

George finished with 31 points, and David West added 20 points and 11 rebounds, helping Central Division-leading Indiana pull away from struggling Houston 105-95.

”My guys found me, so I just had to knock shots down,” George said. ”It felt good, it’s easy to start in a flow when you get some good looks early on and that was the case tonight.”

George has been the key figure in Indiana’s incredible turnaround. The Pacers (25-16) have rebounded from a sluggish start by going 15-5 over the last 20 games, pulling even in the win column with the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference and winning 11 straight at home – their longest since winning 14 in a row in 2002-03.

Plus, George continued to make his case for being on the East’s All-Star roster by going 8-of-11 from the field and knocking down five 3-pointers in the first half, and then playing a second half in which he looked content to make all the right moves regardless of his scoring chances.

The result: George finished 11 of 19 from the field, 7 of 10 from 3-point range, had six rebounds, five steals, three assists and one block in a game the Pacers dictated almost from start to finish. It was George’s third 30-point game of the season…

While Omer Asik scored a career-high 22 points and finished with 11 rebounds, the Pacers held James Harden to 17 points on 5-of-19 shooting. Harden, who was defended most of the night by George, had a career-best streak of 22 straight games with 20 or more points end on the same night the NBA’s second-best scoring team finished 10 points below it average and shot just 41.0 percent from the field.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Rockets re-assign Terrence Jones to D-League yet again

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has re-assigned forward Terrence Jones to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Jones (6-9, 252, Kentucky) has averaged 19.2 points and 11.0 rebounds in nine games (nine starts) with Rio Grande Valley this season. Re-assigned to the Vipers on Dec. 26 and recalled on Jan. 14, Jones helped Rio Grande Valley pull to within a half game of first place in D-League’s Central Division. Through Jan. 13, Jones stood second in the D-League in rebounds per game (11.0) and ninth in the league in scoring average (19.2). In his rookie campaign with the Rockets, Jones has averaged 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11 games with Houston in 2012-13.

Rockets recall Patrick Beverley from D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has recalled guard Patrick Beverley from Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Beverley (6-1, 185, Arkansas), who was signed by the Rockets on Jan. 7 and assigned Rio Grande Valley, averaged 13.7 points, 7.0 assists, 6.7 rebounds and 2.00 steals in three starts with the Vipers.

He came to the Rockets from Spartak St. Petersburg in Russia, where he earned Eurocup MVP for the 2011-12 season and 2012 All-Eurocup First-Team honors. He originally played two seasons at Arkansas before leaving school to sign a professional contract with BC Dnipro of the Ukrainian UBL for the 2008-09 season. Beverley was then drafted by the L.A. Lakers in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft and later traded to the Miami Heat. He decided to stay in Europe and signed with Olympiakos in Greece on Aug. 26, 2009. He again joined the Heat for the 2010 NBA Summer League and was signed by Miami on Aug. 2, 2010. Beverley was waived by the Heat at the end of training camp on Oct. 25, 2010.

Rockets recall Terrence Jones from D-League again

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has recalled forward Terrence Jones from Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Jones (6-9, 252, Kentucky) has averaged 19.2 points and 11.0 rebounds in nine games (nine starts) with Rio Grande Valley this season. Re-assigned to the Vipers on Dec. 26, Jones has helped Rio Grande Valley pull to within a half game of first place in D-League’s Central Division. Through Jan. 13, Jones stands second in the D-League in rebounds per game (11.0) and ninth in the league in scoring average (19.2). In his rookie campaign with the Rockets, Jones has averaged 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11 games with Houston in 2012-13.

Jrue Holiday scores 30, Sixers beat Rockets

The 76ers found the fresh start at home they wanted.

Jrue Holiday scored 30 points, Thaddeus Young had 18 points and 12 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 107-100 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Jason Richardson scored 16 points for the Sixers, who finally return home for a lengthy stint as they try to play their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Sixers opened a stretch of 12 home games in the next 13 and hope they can start to offset a miserable 2-6 road trip that stretched over the new year. They played 12 of 15 on the road dating back to Dec. 14…

The road woes are one reason the Sixers are only 6-16 after a nice 10-6 start to the season. But it’s turned into crunch time quickly for the Sixers as they as try and get back to .500 in the next month before the hopeful return of injured center Andrew Bynum.

James Harden led the Rockets with 29 points and Chandler Parsons had 23. Jeremy Lin missed 11 of 13 shots for seven points en route to Houston’s third straight loss…

Houston’s cold stretch was uncharacteristic of a team that was second in the NBA in scoring (105.60 points) behind Oklahoma City. The Rockets only shot 30 percent from 3-point range (8 of 32) and had no answer to stop Holiday en route to their third straight loss.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

Hornets beat Rockets for 3rd straight win

Roger Mason understands playing time is fleeting, especially as a role player, so the New Orleans Hornets guard stays prepared for when he gets the call.

Mason scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night to rally the Hornets to an 88-79 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Mason, who played 26 seconds in the first half and did not play in a victory over San Antonio on Monday, made all five of his shots in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers for the Hornets, who have won three in the row for the first time this season…

Greivis Vasquez and Jason Smith also scored 17 points for the Hornets, and Robin Lopez chipped in with 14.

James Harden scored 25 points for the Rockets, who had won 10 of their past 12 games and five in a row. Harden, who was held to three points in the final quarter when the Rockets were outscored 29-10, was the only Houston player in double figures.

Jeremy Lin scored nine points on 4-of-12 shooting and have five assists for the Rockets, who committed 23 turnovers…

Eric Gordon struggled with five points on 2-of-12 shooting, but the Hornets have won four of five since his return.

Ryan Anderson, New Orleans’ 3-point specialist, was 0 of 7 from the field, including 0 of 4 from behind the arc.

No. 1 pick Anthony Davis, who along with Lopez did not play in the fourth quarter, had six points and three rebounds.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Rockets beat banged-up Lakers 125-112 for 5th straight win

James Harden scored 31 points and Chandler Parsons added 20 to help the Houston Rockets pick up their fifth straight win with a 125-112 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Houston trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, but used a pair of runs in the third quarter to go on top and build a big lead.

World Peace had a season-high 24 points for the Lakers, who were playing without their top three big men: Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill – who are all out with injuries.

Bryant added 20 points for the Lakers and Nash had 16 points and 10 assists to become only the fifth player to surpass 10,000 career assists, joining John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson and Magic Johnson…

The Rockets have rallied from double-digit deficits for their last three wins. As usual, they did it on Tuesday night behind the strong play of Harden, who has scored at least 25 points in 13 straight games…

Howard has a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Gasol has a concussion and Hill a right hip injury. All three are out indefinitely. Seven-foot rookie center Robert Sacre made his first career start due to the injuries, and finished with 10 points, four blocked shots and three rebounds…

Jeremy Lin chipped in 19 points with six rebounds and five assists for Houston, and Carlos Delfino also scored 19.

— Reported by Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press

Rockets sign Patrick Beverley, waive Scott Machado

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard Patrick Beverley to a multi-year deal. Beverley will be assigned to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. To make room on the roster, the Rockets have waived guard Scott Machado.

Beverley (6-1, 185, Arkansas) comes to the Rockets from Spartak St. Petersburg in Russia, where he earned Eurocup MVP for the 2011-12 season and 2012 All-Eurocup First-Team honors. He originally played two seasons at Arkansas before leaving school to sign a professional contract with BC Dnipro of the Ukrainian UBL for the 2008-09 season. Beverley was then drafted by the L.A. Lakers in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft and later traded to the Miami Heat. He decided to stay in Europe and signed with Olympiakos in Greece on Aug. 26, 2009. He again joined the Heat for the 2010 NBA Summer League and was signed by Miami on Aug. 2, 2010. Beverley was waived by the Heat at the end of training camp on Oct. 25, 2010.

As a collegian, Beverley was named SEC Freshman of the Year and earned Second-Team All-SEC honors in 2006-07. A 2008 Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate, he started 33 of 35 games as a sophomore, ranking first on Razorbacks in rebounding (6.6 rpg), steals (1.3 spg) and 3-point percentage (.378). Beverley was also second on the team in points (12.1 ppg) and third in assists (2.4 apg) in 2007-08.

Machado (6-1, 205, Iona) averaged 1.3 points and 1.0 assists in six games with the Rockets this season. He also averaged 12.0 points, 7.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 11 games (nine starts) with Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Royce White suspended by Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets suspended first-round pick Royce White for ”refusing to provide services” required by his contract on Sunday.

General manager Daryl Morey said Sunday that the team will continue to work with White in hopes of finding a resolution.

White will not be paid during his suspension.

White refused his assignment to Houston’s D-League affiliate a week ago. The 16th overall pick in the June draft has spent most of the season on Houston’s inactive list while he and the team figure out how to handle his anxiety disorder and overall mental health.

White has been vocal on Twitter throughout this saga, and he continued to voice his opinions on the Web site after the announcement Sunday.

— Reported by the Associated Press