The Atlanta Hawks showed glimpses but struggled overall and trail the Houston Rockets 53-44 at halftime. Houston used its size effectively and beat Atlanta up on the boards while James Harden found a rhythm to help stake the Rockets to an early lead.
Atlanta got off to a good start getting in transition led by Devin Harris who scored nine of the team's first 15 points. However, the Rockets took control inside to the tune of a 34-20 rebounding advantage. Of Houston's 34 boards, 15 came of the offensive variety. Atlanta fell behind 28-21 after one and only a DeShawn Stevenson three at the halftime buzzer prevented the Hawks from going to the locker room down double figures.
Harris leads the Hawks with nine points at the break on 4-10 shooting. Al Horford and Josh Smith each scored eight points in the first half. Stevenson and Zaza Pachulia came off the bench to score six each.
James Harden leads all scorers with 17 points on 7-9 shooting. Marcus Morris added 10 points off the bench. Jeremy Lin has nine points, five rebounds and two assists at the break. Omer Asik was held scoreless in the first half but pulled down a game-high 12 boards.