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Rockets shoot for first road win in Charlotte

Jan 10, 2012 - 3:42 PM (Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets try for their first road win of the season this evening when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Houston fell for the fourth straight time overall on Saturday, as Kevin Durant hit the game-winning jumper with 22 seconds left, sending the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 98-95 victory over the Rockets.

The Rockets, who are just 2-6 on the season were paced by Luis Scola's 28 points. Goran Dragic added 20, but turned the ball over on the team's final possession to seal the result. Kevin Martin had 16 points and Patrick Patterson finished with 10 for '

Houston, which will conclude a brief two-game trek in San Antonio on Wednesday, is 0-5 away from home this season.

"We're much better than we were a month ago when training camp first started," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We have to be way better two weeks from now and then two weeks from there."

Houston should get even better tonight, as point guard Kyle Lowry, who has been out of the lineup since he bruised his right foot at practice last Thursday, is expected to return. He is second in the league with 10.0 assists per game.

"I'm sore, but better," Lowry said after practice on Monday. "I'm very hopeful for tomorrow. Hopefully, my foot reacts well to the treatment and today?s practice.

"I feel like I let my team down being hurt. That's the truth. I hate not being out there and being able to fight with my team.

Charlotte, meanwhile, lost a hard-fought 91-87 decision to the New York Knicks on Monday at Madison Square Garden. Boris Diaw had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to pace the Bobcats, who have lost three straight and seven of eight since beating Milwaukee in their season opener.

Trailing by as many as 11 late in the third quarter, Charlotte managed to tie the game with just under three minutes left in regulation. The Knicks, though, went right back ahead on a pair of Carmelo Anthony baskets and hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

The Bobcats did have one last shot to even the game with less than 10 seconds remaining but D.J. Augustin's wide-open look from beyond the arc was way off the mark.

"A wide-open 3 from our best shooter? I'll take that," head coach Paul Silas said of Augustin's miss. "I really love the way we stuck in there and battled. We really gave ourselves a chance."

Charlotte's struggles could continue tonight, as it has lost nine of its last 11 to the Rockets. However, both of the Bobcats' wins in that span have come in Charlotte.