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Rockets lose 89-88 to Hornets: Yao had 18
(Agencies/Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-10-28 11:28
Houston Rockets lost 89-88 to New Orleans Hornets. Yao Ming scored 16
with 9 rebounds on Thursday night.
 Tracy McGradey watched the game on bench for
injury as the New Orlean team welcomed their first win in Oklahoma
City.
After David Wesley missed a 3-pointer for the Rockets, Claxton drove the left
side of the lane and tossed the ball onto the rim. Brown caught the miss and put
it back in with his right hand for the lead.
After two Houston timeouts, Luther Head had a chance to win it for the
Rockets, but missed a jumper from the left side at the buzzer.
The Hornets, who fell behind by 26 in their Oklahoma City debut on Sunday
before getting back within two points, spotted the Rockets a 22-point first-half
lead before mounting another comeback.
Claxton and Bostjan Nachbar hit back-to-back 3-pointers from the left wing,
and Nachbar added a three-point play to get the Hornets within 63-61 with 4:05
left in the third quarter. J.R. Smith brought the fans to their feet when his
3-pointer from the right wing spun around the rim and fell in to give the
Hornets a 72-70 lead, their first of the second half.
Juwan Howard gave Houston the lead back with a jumper from a step behind the
free throw line, and Lonny Baxter's three-point play made it 80-76 Rockets.
Barry stretched the lead to five with a right-handed floater in the lane, but
then helped the Hornets charge back with a technical foul.
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