(Sports Network) - The New Orleans Hornets kick off a brief two-game road trip in south Texas tonight when they square off with the reeling Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.
The Hornets have won two straight and are coming off one of their most impressive wins since early in the season when they halted Orlando's nine-game winning streak in the Big Easy on Wednesday. Marcus Thornton ended with 22 points and nine rebounds and hit the go-ahead basket in overtime in that one, as New Orleans ended Orlando's run with a 92-89 decision.
Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and David West added 13 and 10 for the Hornets, who were coming off a win in Denver on Sunday. Chris Paul also posted a double-double for the victors, notching 12 points and 13 assists.
"It definitely was a grind out there," Okafor said. "They played great, it was very physical, the refs did a great job. In a hard fought game like this it was great to come out with a win. It feels great, we needed this one. It's good to break a streak."
New Orleans, which is 8-11 on the road, will finish its quick trek in Charlotte on Saturday.
The Rockets, meanwhile, lost for the sixth time in seven games on Wednesday when Kevin Durant finished with 30 points, as the Thunder held off a late Houston surge for a 118-112 triumph at the Toyota Center.
Luis Scola finished with a game-high 31 points to go along with 11 rebounds for Houston. Courtney Lee added 19 points in a reserve role and Kyle Lowry added 18 points and four assists for the Rockets, who played without leading scorer Kevin Martin for a second consecutive contest and lost for the third straight time on their home floor.
"We put ourselves in a position to win tonight, but we fell flat with jump shots," Rockets guard Aaron Brooks said. "The good thing was we were getting the shots, we just didn't hit them towards the end."
Martin, who is averaging 23.2 points per game, is struggling with a sore right wrist and is questionable for tonight's game.
New Orleans has won four straight over the Rockets, including a 107-99 win in Space City back on Nov. 3.