30 December,2009 02:23 PM IST | | AFP
Aaron Brooks scored 27 points and Luis Scola added 13 with 12 rebounds on Tuesday as Houston overcame outstanding showings from Chris Paul and David West to beat New Orleans 108-100 in a National Basketball Association contest.
Paul had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his 11th career triple-double and first this season. West had 44 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to stop the Hornets from falling to 2-13 on the road this season.
Shane Battier scored 20 points and Carl Landry added 18 off the bench for the Rockets, who went 12 for 23 from three-point range.
West helped the Hornets rally to take the lead after Houston led by 10 at halftime.
West scored 22 points in the third quarter on 7-for-10 shooting. Scola poked him in the eye with 3:45 left, but West returned after a timeout and scored eight more points as New Orleans took an 82-74 lead.
But with West on the bench to start of the fourth quarter, the Rockets edged ahead 87-86, and after he returned they still were able to build the lead to 96-86.
Devin Brown's three-pointer for New Orleans cut Houston's lead to 100-98, but Trevor Ariza dunked and sank a free throw, then Paul missed on a drive and Landry nailed a free throw with 27 seconds left to seal the victory.
