Recap: Houston vs. Memphis

Sports Network | November 12, 2009

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Luis Scola led the way with 22 points and 15 rebounds, while Carl Landry added 20 points and Trevor Ariza donated 17, as Houston used a big second half to rout hapless Memphis, 104-79.

Kyle Lowry registered eight points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who rebounded from a lopsided defeat to Dallas on Tuesday.

The Grizzlies dropped their seventh straight decision despite 19 points from O.J. Mayo and 18 points apiece from Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph, who also added 10 rebounds in defeat. Memphis' second overall selection in last June's NBA draft, UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, sat out with a fractured jaw while guard Allen Iverson continued his absence for personal reasons.

"I think they played stronger than us, tougher than us," said Memphis center Marc Gasol. "That's why they beat us. They played good team basketball."

Memphis is off to its worst start since losing eight of its first nine in 2005-06 and dropped its seventh straight to Houston.

Houston led 20-17 after one stanza and held a 43-38 edge after 24 minutes of game action before taking control in the third quarter.

"At halftime we talked about we didn't come out with the energy that we needed to," said Rockets coach Rick Adelman. "The first half, there wasn't a spark there. In the third quarter we really turned it on, got in the open court and got fast-break points."

The Rockets used 11 successive points to build an expansive 59-43 edge. Scola and Aaron Brooks combined for the final nine points with Scola's pull-up jumper opening the 16-point edge with just over seven minutes to play in the period.

Memphis cut the deficit to 66-56 on a pair of Gay free throws with a little more than three minutes to go but the margin grew to 17 points by the end of the quarter. Houston tallied the last three buckets with Ariza's jumper making the score 74-57.

The Rockets cruised and expanded their lead in the fourth period while never seriously being threatened.

The Rockets made 50 percent of their shots, while Memphis connected on 39.5 percent of their attempts from the floor...Houston made only 6-of-23 three- point shots, but held a 62-50 edge in the paint and lead by as many as 27 points.