Kon Knueppel, streaking Hornets handle sputtering Rockets
Rookie Kon Knueppel scored 24 points, LaMelo Ball added 20, and the visiting Charlotte Hornets extended their winning streak to eight games with a 109-99 win over the sputtering Houston Rockets.
Knueppel finished 8 for 13 overall while Ball drilled five 3-pointers to pace a balanced offensive attack for the Hornets, whose winning streak is the franchise's longest since the 1998-99 season. Three others scored in double figures for Charlotte, which shot 17 for 43 from deep.
Miles Bridges added 18 points while Josh Green tallied 14 on 4-for-4 shooting and four steals off the bench. Brandon Miller, plagued by foul trouble, posted 11 points and three steals. Moussa Diabate grabbed 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who produced a 46-40 rebounding margin.
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 31 points for the Rockets, who have split their last six games and dropped both contests of a home back-to-back. Jabari Smith Jr. chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds for Houston, which committed 18 turnovers that Charlotte turned into 27 points. Durant and Smith were the only double-digit scorers for Houston.
Live-ball turnovers doomed the Rockets in the first half and greased the skids to a 12-point halftime deficit. Both teams had at least 11 turnovers at the break (Houston had 13), but while the Rockets scored just four points off the Hornets' miscues, they conceded 19 points on their turnovers to fuel the Hornets.
Ball and Durant offset one another in the first quarter, scoring 10 and 11 points respectively as the Hornets carried a 29-26 lead into the second. But after Reed Sheppard nailed a 3-pointer for Houston that knotted the score at 34-34, Ball and Bridges stroked 3s that ignited a 19-5 run capped by a Knueppel 13-footer. That 14-point margin was the largest of the half for Charlotte.
The Hornets had their way before the intermission, shooting 9 of 21 from behind the arc while also recording 28 points in the paint. Houston clawed to within seven points in the third quarter, but when Ball drilled a stepback 3-pointer at the 4:29 mark, the Hornets claimed an 83-70 lead.
The Hornets led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.