Dwight Howard chalked up 17 points and 26 rebounds while James Harded recorded 21 points and 5 assists as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 96-83 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Notes From the Game

*Josh McRoberts recorded 15 points and Al Jefferson had 13 points and 8 rebounds in their Bobcats debut.

*Omer Asik grabbed 14 rebounds as a starting center for the Rockets. Howard actually started at the power forward position in the game. Jeremy Lin (16 points) and Francisco Garcia (19 points) contributed well off the bench, combining for 35 points.

*Howard's 26 record is the most by any player in the season opener since the NBA and ABA merged.

"Best Quote from the Game"

"I didn't want to put any pressure on myself," Howard told ESPN via press release. "I just wanted to go out there and play and have fun and get back to being who I am as a player. I think when you focus too much on that and what everybody else is saying that's when you don't play like you want to play."