HOUSTON — The Charlotte Hornets snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Houston Rockets, who have now lost 12 straight games.
Charlotte scored 39 points in the fourth quarter to edge ahead of the Rockets and take the win 122-117 on Wednesday night in Houston.
If you flip the NBA standings upside down, the Hornets (12-34) and Rockets (10-35) are at the apex of the league. In reality, both teams have been disappointing fans all season long and remain at the bottom of their respective conferences.
Despite the records, both teams lit up the scoreboard early. The Hornets pulled out to a 36-31 lead after the first quarter. Houston's Jalen Green scored 13 points and Charlotte's LaMelo Ball scored 10 points in a relatively active frame for the teams.
That production fell off for the Hornets in the second period, when they only scored 17 points. During that frame of ineptitude, the Hornets went about six and a half minutes where they only scored four points. The Rockets led 60-53 going into the locker room.
Houston led by as much as eight points to open the second half before Charlotte went on a 10-0 run to take the lead. From there on, the lead traded back and forth with Houston holding a slim 84-83 lead at the end of the third quarter.
During the third quarter, Ball was injured when P.J. Washington landed on him during a rebound incident. Ball had to be helped to the locker room and appeared to be in a lot of pain. He was ruled out for the rest of the game.
It's the third time this season that Ball has injured his ankle. He has missed 24 games this year due to the injury.
The Hornets pressed hard in the fourth quarter and led by as much as 10 points in the closing minutes. Charlotte's P.J. Washington and Terry Rozier put up big performances in the quarter to maintain the lead.
Houston pulled within three points with 16 seconds to play but the Hornets held on for the 122-117 win.
Green led the game with 41 points. He was followed on his team by Alperen Sengun with 24 points
Rozier led the Hornets with 26 points. All five of Charlotte's starters scored double digits.
The victory was the 208th in Steve Clifford's time as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, making him the all-time wins leader in franchise history. Clifford, who coached the Hornets from 2013 to 2018 before retaking the job this season, surpassed Allan Bristow (1991-96) as the leader.
This was Charlotte's first win since a 138-109 upset win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 6. Houston has not won since last year, when they topped the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 26, 2022.
The Hornets will next face the Atlanta Hawks (23-22) on the road on Saturday. Houston's next game also comes on Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves (22-23).