Rockets blast Grizzlies on the road

The Houston Rockets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies via a blowout 107-91 on Tuesday (Wednesday in Australia) for one of their biggest road wins of the season.

James Harden had 25 points on just 13 shots for the night to lead his team in scoring as the Rockets found help both from the starters and the bench.

Dwight Howard had a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds with two blocked shots. Trevor Ariza added 10 points with two three-pointers. Off the bench, Terrence Jones and Marcus Thornton had 20 and 16 points, respectively, as the Rockets improved to 8-10 on the road this season.

This was a disappointing performance for the Grizzlies, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. The Grizzlies dropped to 21-19 for the season with the Rockets improving to 20-19, just half a game behind Memphis in the Western Conference standings.

After losing four straight after a Christmas Day win over the San Antonio Spurs, the Rockets have now won four consecutive games, a pair against the Utah Jazz, an overtime win over the Pacers and the Grizzlies. Four of five starters finished in double-figure scoring for the Grizzlies but the defence fell off in the final quarter when the Rockets outscored them, 35-22.

Marc Gasol led the way with 20 points with 2 steals and 3 blocked shots but allowed the Rockets to shoot 18-of-35 from behind the arc for 51.4 percent. Tony Allen and Courtney Lee added 17 and 16 points, respectively for the Grizzlies, which shot better than Houston from the field but was outrebounded, 42-31.

The Grizzlies continue a six-game homestand facing the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and New Orleans Pelicans in their next three games. Meanwhile, the Rockets aim for five in a row when they face the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.