The Houston Rockets (22 - 9) defeated the Charlotte Hornets (10 - 23) 102 - 83 on Wednesday. Houston snapped their two - game losing streak with the win. Josh Smith continues to struggle with his shot since moving into the starting lineup three games ago, but he had a productive night in other categories, finishing with a line of five points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in 28 minutes. The Rockets had a poor showing on offense Wednesday. It was their defense that got the win. They held the Hornets to 38 percent shooting from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc. Houston will go on the road to face the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Charlotte has lost four straight, and with Al Jefferson (groin) expected to miss at least the next four weeks, it's getting hard to find reasons to think the Hornets could climb back into the playoff conversation this season. Lance Stephenson (pelvic) has started to do some work in practice but is n't considered too close to returning. Most of Charlotte's options in the frontcourt right now are underwhelming, but Michael Kidd-Gilchrist showed up well Wednesday with 16 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes. They'll return home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
["PlayerStat(G,'Michael Kidd-Gilchrist') has 28 Assists ,has 16 Blocks ,has 8 Minutes played ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Josh Smith') has 3 Assists ,has 3 Blocks ,has 28 Minutes played ,has 3 Personal fouls ,has 5 Points ,has 4 Total rebounds ,has 3 Steals ."]