Rockets 100 - 80 Pelicans
Final
  for this game

Hornets face red-hot Rockets after trade

Feb 22, 2008 - 1:54 PM Houston (34-20) at New Orleans (37-15) 8:00 pm EST

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) - After watching many of the other top teams in the Western Conference pull off trades, the New Orleans Hornets made one of their own involving the team they face on Friday - the sizzling Houston Rockets.

While New Orleans has won five straight and is 7-3 in its last 10 games, Houston has won 10 in a row, including four in a row on the road.

The Hornets acquired swingman Bonzi Wells and guard Mike James in a trade that sent veteran guard Bobby Jackson to the Rockets. New Orleans also sent rookie guard Adam Haluska and second-year forward Marcus Vinicius to Houston. Then the Rockets sent Vinicius, the rights to Malick Badiane and cash to Memphis in exchange for the rights to Sergei Lishouk.

The Hornets and Houston also agreed to exchange second-round draft picks if New Orleans' second pick is higher than the Rockets.

"We wanted to add a little bit of presence on our bench in the form of players who could give us some scoring punch," Hornets' general manager Jeff Bower said. "This trade dramatically improves our team by giving us proven veteran scorers at the backup guard and swing positions."

The Hornets won the first of four meetings between the teams, 87-82, in Houston on January 13.






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