Skid continues: Another woeful start dooms Rockets in Charlotte

James Harden had 10 turnovers as the Rockets (39-23) couldn’t overcome a 20-0 hole at Charlotte (22-41). It’s their third straight loss.

In yet another poor and at times embarrassing showing, the Houston Rockets lost their third straight game in a 108-99 setback (box score) on Saturday in Charlotte. They went nearly seven minutes without scoring to begin the game, which created a 20-0 deficit, and never led.

James Harden led the Rockets in all major categories with 30 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds, but he also had 10 turnovers and shot just 8-of-22 (36.4%), including 2-of-11 on 3-pointers (18.2%).

As expected, guards Russell Westbrook (rest) and Eric Gordon (knee) were out. That left more of the playmaking burden on Harden, and he wasn’t able to consistently take advantage. The Hornets (22-41) were led by Terry Rozier, who had 24 points (6-of-9 on 3-pointers) and six assists.

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With the latest loss, the Rockets (39-23) have fallen to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, which would mean potentially not having home-court advantage in any round of the playoffs.

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Of the three straight losses, two came against teams (Charlotte and New York) were at least 20 games under .500 entering the game. In four straight outings, the Rockets have been lethargic from the opening tipoff, with deficits of 17 or more points built within the game’s first 18 minutes.

The Hornets made 15 3-pointers in 32 attempts (46.7%), while Houston had the same number of makes but on a whopping 45 attempts (33.3%). Outside of Robert Covington, who scored 25 points and hit 7-of-13 on 3-pointers (53.8%), the rest of the Rockets made just 6-of-32 (18.8%).

Jeff Green had 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting (66.7%), and the Rockets were a +28 in point differential during his 29 minutes. Besides Harden, Green, and Covington, no other Rocket scored in double figures.

Houston returns to action Sunday night with a home game against the Orlando Magic (28-35). Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central.

Westbrook is expected back, while Gordon remains doubtful.