CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jalen Green scored 36 points, rookie Cam Whitmore had a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Houston Rockets routed the Charlotte Hornets 138-104 on Friday night.
Fred VanVleet had 14 points and Amen Thompson added 13 off the bench for the Rockets, They shot 30 of 40 from the field in the second half and outscored the Hornets 83-51.
Miles Bridges had 21 points for the Hornets. They fell to 5-15 at home.
The Rockets led by two at halftime, then blew it open in the third quarter outscoring the Hornets 44-25 with two of Charlotte’s best scorers in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller spending the majority of the time on the bench because of foul trouble.
The Rockets put the game away with four straight 3s on their first four possessions to open the fourth quarter — the first three by Whitmore — pushing the lead to 31.
The Rockets were 5 of 22 from beyond the arc for the first three quarters, then made 7 of 8 3s to start the fourth quarter.
Houston had lost five of its previous six games, but the Rockets were able to rest their starters for the majority of the fourth quarter after building a 37-point lead.
Green, who came in averaging 17.4 points per game, scored 17 points in the decisive third quarter and finished the game with 12 of 20 from the field and 11 of 12 from the foul line, seemingly scoring at will on strong drivers and jumpers against the lifeless Hornets. He also had nine rebounds and four assists.
The Rockets won despite playing without Jabari Smith, who sat out with an ankle injury.
UP NEXT
Rockets: At Brooklyn on Saturday night.
Hornets: Host Utah on Saturday night.
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