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CHARLOTTE -- Kevin McHale has been around the NBA long enough to know that not every win can be pretty.
And Houston's 82-70 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night was proof.McHale's Rockets overcame 22 turnovers and won despite shooting just 39 percent from the field to snap a four-game losing streak.
Rookie Chandler Parsons scored 20 points and Kevin Martin 17 for the Rockets, while Jordan Hill came up big off the bench with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
"Sometimes in the NBA you've just got to win ugly," McHale said.
"Believe me that was ugly for both teams out there, but it was prettier for us and I was happy for our guys. They kept fighting. We've been preaching that you've got to win some ugly games."
The Rockets (3-6) broke open a tight game in the third quarter and the poor-shooting Bobcats could never make a serious run at the lead.
The closest they got was within five with 2:30 remaining, but Parsons made a 3-pointer from the right wing and a jumper from deep in the left corner to put the Rockets back up by double digits.
The Rockets held the Bobcats to 35 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded them 57-44.
"I thought we were tired and couldn't really do anything, couldn't execute, couldn't run, couldn't defend," Bobcats coach Paul Silas said.
"It's just one of those nights. Even layups. We had shots right at the hoop but we couldn't convert. I can't fault them, I mean, they played as well as they could play. We just didn't have it. They were sitting here waiting for us to come in (from New York). We played a tough game Monday night (at the Knicks), and then to come back tonight and have to play, that's rough. It's rough."
Parsons came into the game averaging just 5.3 points this season but got hot early, scoring six of his team's first eight points.
He shot 9 of 16 from the field and added seven rebounds to give the Rockets a much-needed spark.
"At the end of the day you're playing basketball and in a game like that it's just exciting for our team to be able to shoot that poorly from the field and be able to pull out a win on the road in the NBA," Parsons said. "That's the kind of effort we have to give on the defensive end every night to win games like this."
The Rockets began the season 2-2, but had lost four in a row while struggling on offense.
Kyle Lowry had 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Rockets, while Samuel Dalembert added 10 rebounds.
Jordan's double-double was big for the Rockets, particularly in the third quarter.
"Jordan saved our bacon there for a while," McHale said. "He played really well. We're still trying to find out rotations and try to find out what we're going to be doing. We're still working on all those things and trying to find out who is going to play and when they're going to play and whose they're going to play with."
The Bobcats (2-8) couldn't muster much offense with the exception of center Byron Mullens, who turned in another solid game off the bench scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
It was the sixth time in eight games Mullens has finished in double digits in scoring and marked his second double-double of the season since being acquired in a preseason trade with Oklahoma City.
The Bobcats were playing without starting forwards Corey Maggette, who is out two to four weeks with a strained left hamstring, and Tyrus Thomas, who needed a break to rest his fatigued legs after seeing significant playing time in the team's previous three games.
Their other top scorers didn't pick up the slack.
Boris Diaw, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds the night before against the Knicks, was held to four points on 2 of 13 shooting.
D.J. Augustin came into the game averaging 18.6 points, 7.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds in his previous five games, was held to 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting.
Notes: Mullens had made 19 straight free throws to start the season before missing one in the third quarter. He said the foul shot wasn't supposed to be his, but the referee sent him to the line. "It didn't feel right," Mullens said. ... Diaw has gone seven games and 185 minutes without going to the free throw line. ... The Rockets had allowed opponents to shoot 54 percent from the field on the road this season before Tuesday night.
(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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