Scola’s 28 Help Rockets Fend Off Undermanned Warriors 113-109

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap

Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola

The Houston Rockets, in their game Friday night, had to make do without center Yao Ming who complained of foot pain prior to tip-off. So guess who got the rare start? None other than Dikembe Mutumbo. While he was effective against the size-challenged Warriors, it was Luis Scola’s offense that helped the Rockets; but to be fair, the Warriors only suited up eight players – although only 7 actually played. Scola poured in 28 points, leading Houston to the hard-fought 113-109 win over Golden State at Oracle Arena.

The Rockets led by as many as 14 in the third quarter before the Warriors went on a 13-6 run to get to within 86-79 going into the final quarter; a 3-pointer by Golden State’s Anthony Morrow with 6.4 seconds left in the game put them to within 109-106 but the Rockets’ Aaron Brooks made a pair of free throws to push Houston’s lead back up to five. Kelenna Azubuike hit a 3-pointer for the Warriors, but Brooks made another pair of free throws to ice the win for Houston.

Houston’s high scorer was Scola with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists while Brooks added 20 (including three 3-pointers) with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal; Ron Artest pitched in 19 (including 3 treys) with 4 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal while Mutumbo notched a double-double, scoring 10 with 15 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Golden State was led by Azubuike with 32 points (including three 3-pointers), 3 rebounds and 3 assists while C.J. Watson and Ronny Turiaf added 18 each – with Watson grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing out 9 assists along with 3 steals while Turiaf grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 2 assists along with a steal and 2 blocks. Anthony Randolph chipped in 17 with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal while Morrow scored 16 with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Houston (52-28) plays again on Monday when they return home to host the New Orleans Hornets while Golden State (28-51) travels to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

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