Clint Capela has his best game since return in Rockets win over Charlotte

Clint Capela was the most consistent player in a Houston Rockets uniform on Wednesday night, putting up a monster double-double in a win over the Hornets.

The Houston Rockets beat the Charlotte Hornets 118 to 113 in a back and forth game.

The Rockets came out of the gates on fire, scoring 41 points and nailing 6 3-pointers in the first quarter. Houston was so in sync on offense that it looked like they would pull away from the Hornets as the game went on, but Houston eventually went cold and Kemba Walker led Charlotte on a charge.

The Hornets out scored Houston 28-6 over the final 6:48 of the first half and went into halftime with a 69-62 lead. Fortunately, Harden found his rhythm in the third, scoring 15 points in the quarter to help Houston pull within four points heading into the final period.

The Rockets out scored Charlotte 18 to 9 in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, all with Harden watching from the sidelines. The Rockets never trailed again after they took a 99-98 lead with 8:44 remaining in the game.

Before Wednesday’s game, Clint Capela acknowledged that it would take some time for him to get back into game shape and told the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen that he was only “55, 60 percent” at the moment, but you couldn’t tell by watching him in Charlotte.

Clint Capela was huge down the stretch, as he scored 8 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the fourth. Capela led the team with 40 minutes played and he also finished with 23 points. The center from Switzerland also came up with 5 of Houston’s 7 offensive rebounds and secured 17 of the team’s 37 rebounds.

James Harden led the team in scoring after finishing with 30 points. Chris Paul added 17 points and dished out 10 assists. P.J. Tucker had a perfect shooting night, nailing all five of his 3-pointers and finishing with 15 points.

The Rockets have now won three consecutive games and are just two and a half games behind Oklahoma City for the third spot in the west. The Rockets will play again on Thursday night at home against the Miami Heat.