NBA -- Howard shines in Rockets debut
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 02 Nov 2013
Dwight Howard had an impressive start as a member of the Houston Rockets, scoring 17 points and grabbing 17 rebounds to led his new team past the visiting Charlotte Bobcats, 96-83, Wednesday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.
It was the 63rd 20-plus career rebound game for Howard, who fondly calls himself "Superman." Howard aimed for a 30-rebound haul and was wildly cheered during the players' introduction.
James Harden, who scored 21 points including an alley-oop to Howard that delighted the home crowd, teamed with Dwight to ignite a 14-4 run that stretched Houston's fourth quarter lead from four points to 14, 86-72, with three minutes to go.
Josh McRoberts topscored for the Bobcats with 15 points. Al Jefferson had 13 points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes after missing most of the preseason for Charlotte.
Houston coach Kevin McHale used his twin towers -- 7-foot- Omer Asik at center and Howard at power forward -- but benched Jeremy Lin in favor of Patrick Beverley at point guard.
Beverley suffered a rib injury in the second quarter and did not finish. Lin gashed his chin but returned after undergoing stiches. Beverley scored five points while Lin added 16. Francisco Garcia sank five 3-pointers and scored 19 points.
The Bobcats were leading by two points about seven minutes going into the halftime before Houston chalked up 11 unanswered points to grab the lead, 38-29. Harden ignited the spurt with four points and Howard drew a roar from the crowd following a reverse layup.
Houston led by eight points on a layup by Howard at the start of the third quarter. Jefferson revived the Bobcats by scoring four points fueling a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 51-48.
A 3-pointer by McRoberts drew Charlotte nearer at 57-56. But Lin retaliated with another 3-pointer that sparked six straight points for the Rockets pushing the lead to 63-56. Houston was ahead 67-61 at the end of the third quarter.
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