Rockets blown out by Hornets on rough shooting night

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports

So much for the winning streak.

Fresh off their first victory in a month and a half, the Rockets quickly reverted to their losing ways on Wednesday night, dropping a non-competitive game to the Charlotte Hornets by a score of 122-97.

The Rockets offensive performance in a word? Sloppy. After making their first six shots of the game and a quick 17-7 start, the team's shooting stroke seemed to vanish.

The Rockets finished the evening shooting less than 40% from the field, and even worse from three. Only four players scored in double figures, and John Wall was the only Rocket to crack 20 points. Danuel House Jr. was the only Rocket to shoot higher than 50% on seven or more shots.

Houston also lost the rebounding margin 50-39.

Charlotte, meanwhile, seemingly couldn't miss from the floor, especially from deep. The Hornets made 18 of their 38 threes, in addition to shooting more than 50% from the floor overall.

The Hornets scored 35 points in the third quarter while limiting Houston to 15, which essentially spelled the end of the contest before the final buzzer even rang. Charlotte had actually been leading by only three at the half, a lead that bloated to 23 at the conclusion of the third.

"Right at the beginning of the third quarter, [the deficit] went from three to ten real quick," Rockets coach Stephen Silas said after the game. "It went downhill from there."

"We just have to play basketball and look at the film," John Wall said postgame. "We have to play hard for 48 minutes to try and give ourselves a chance to win the game."

The Rockets on the evening were without guard Victor Oladipo, who was listed as out due to personal reasons. Oladipo's name has been mentioned heavily in trade rumors, and he is figured to be traded to another team before Thursday's 3 PM trade deadline.

The Rockets drop to 12-31 with the loss. Houston's next game will be the first half of a back-to-back set against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the only team in the league worse than Houston, record-wise. The two games could be very telling towards the direction Houston will take for the rest of the season.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8 PM on Friday.