Aaron Brooks and Jordan Hill combined to score 40 points off the bench in a 112-106 road victory for the Rockets. The loss snaps the Hawks home winning streak at ten games. The Rockets should have been tired having lost in overtime to the New Orleans Hornets last night. Houston's flight to Atlanta didn't arrive until after 2 AM yet it was the Rockets that were winning the rebounding battle and most of the hustle categories. The Rockets out rebounded the Hawks 45-32 and scored 21 points off of 13 Hawks turnovers.
Brooks scored 24 points for the Hawks and Luis Scola added 20 points and five rebounds. It was the contribution of Jordan Hill's 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench that the Hawks had no answer for.
Atlanta trailed 83-82 at the start of the fourth quarter and were outscored 29-24 in the fourth. For the second straight game, the Hawks came out with less than stellar defensive intensity. Unlike in the win over Toronto, Atlanta was not able to get enough stops down the stretch to give their offense a chance.
Joe Johnson led the way for Atlanta with 30 points and seven assists. Al Horford came two assists shy of a triple double with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Josh Smith recorded a double double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Jamal Crawford saw his streak of six consecutive games with twenty plus points end as he scored eight points on the night and went scoreless in the second half.
Atlanta will be back in action on Monday when they take on the Sacramento Kings in their annual MLK Day matinée.