"The celebration consisted of showering, dressing and leaving rapidly, as if the Rockets wanted to get out of town before a recount. Or worse, before something stuck.

They did defend better. They got head-turning performances from Chandler Parsons and Jordan Hill. They even proved the NBA still requires that someone win every game.

Most of all, though, they broke through this season's winless road start, taking an 82-70 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday. The win came almost by default, but it certainly beat the alternative.

"I tell you what: That was, uh, an interesting game," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "It was an ugly win, but I'd rather take an ugly win than a really pretty loss.""