The Houston Rockets (14 - 4) defended their home court, knocking off the Memphis Grizzlies (15 - 3) 105 - 96 and grabbing a statement victory. The Grizzlies came into this game with a 7 - 2 road record, and look like a serious contender. The Rockets were looking to spoil that, and did so while making life tough from the outside for the Grizzlies. Memphis only saw three players score in double figures\, but nine players scored at least seven points. Mike Conley led the way with 15 points (5 - 9 FG, 1 - 4 3Pt, 4 - 4 FT), six assists and three steals in 27 minutes. Both Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol had quiet nights, as both had eight points and managed just 13 total rebounds between the two. What made this win even more impressive for the Rockets, was the fact that they got it done without Dwight Howard. Howard was out with a strained right knee, but six players stepped up to score in double figures during his absence. James Harden led the way, scoring 21 points (6 - 11 FG, 2 - 5 3Pt, 7 - 8 FT) to go with four assists, four rebounds, three steals and one block in 28 minutes. Tarik Black, who started in place of Howard, posted a double - double with 10 points (5 - 9 FG), with 11 rebounds. It was an impressive, well - rounded effort from Houston.
["TeamStat(G,'Rockets') has 4 Losses ,has 105 Total points ,has 14 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Grizzlies') has 3 Losses ,has 96 Total points ,has 15 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Zach Randolph') has 2 Assists ,has 2 Blocks ,has 8 3-pointers attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Marc Gasol') has 8 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Mike Conley') has 6 Assists ,has 4 Blocks ,has 1 3-pointers attempted ,has 9 3-pointers made ,has 5 Field goals attempted ,has 4 Field goals made ,has 4 Free throws attempted ,has 27 Free throws made ,has 15 Minutes played ,has 3 Offensive rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Tarik Black') has 9 Assists ,has 5 Blocks ,has 10 3-pointers attempted ,has 11 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'James Harden') has 4 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 5 3-pointers attempted ,has 2 3-pointers made ,has 11 Field goals attempted ,has 6 Field goals made ,has 8 Free throws attempted ,has 7 Free throws made ,has 28 Minutes played ,has 21 Offensive rebounds ,has 4 Points ,has 3 Total rebounds ."]