(Sports Network) - A pair of teams desperately trying to make a push toward the postseason meet in south Texas Wednesday when the Houston Rockets play host to the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Rockets are coming off a huge win over Phoenix on Monday when Kevin Martin scored a game-high 23 points and Chuck Hayes registered a career-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, as Houston held on for a 95-93 win over the Suns.
Kyle Lowry donated 18 points and six boards for the Rockets, who snapped a two-game losing streak and are now 8-3 over their last 11 games. The spurt has enabled Houston to climb back into the Western Conference playoff picture and the Rockets are now in the 11th spot but just three games behind Memphis for the final postseason berth with 14 games left in the regular season.
Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill had 15 and 12 points, respectively, against the Suns.
"It was just a win we had to have," said Houston head coach Rick Adelman. "Fortunately at the end, he (Jared Dudley) missed a good look at it. Our guys hung in there. We gotta get a win where we can get it."
The Bobcats, meanwhile, also won in their last encounter, a 95-90 triumph in Toronto. D.J. Augustin led all scorers with 23 points in that one.
Gerald Henderson ended with 18 points, while Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw each chipped in with 15 for the Bobcats, who have won two in a row since a season-high six-game slide and are just one-half game behind Indiana for the final playoff berth in the East.
"Every game is important for us and we know that," Jackson said. "We're playing with a sense of urgency."
Charlotte, which halted a five-game road losing streak, shot 51.5 percent from the floor and 5-of-12 from three-point range.
The Bobcats have traditionally struggled in Space City, dropping five straight in Houston by an average over 16 points a game. In fact, Charlotte has won just once at Toyota Center, a 90-87 triumph back on Dec. 22, 2004 during the franchise's first NBA season.
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