Rockets welcome Hornets to Toyota Center

Last season, the Rockets won three of the four meetings between the clubs. Overall, Houston has won nine of 12 and 10 of the last 14 contests in this series. The Hornets have lost five of their last seven at Houston.

On Wednesday, veteran Jon Barry scored 24 points off the bench while All-Star center Yao Ming netted 22 and grabbed 10 rebounds, as Houston tipped off its 2005-06 campaign with a 98-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Toyota Center.

Barry, who finished one point shy of a career-high, hit 8-of-10 shots from the floor and added three steals in 26 minutes. Superstar Tracy McGrady finished with 23 points for Houston in the win over Sacramento.

Yao has scored in double-figure in 44 consecutive games.

The Rockets will host the Orlando Magic on Tuesday in the finale of the stand. They will then embark on a five-game road trip that includes stops at Miami, New Jersey, Boston, Minnesota and San Antonio.

New Orleans/Oklahoma City plays the finale of a brief two-game road trip. On Wednesday, LeBron James scored 31 points as the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers started their season with a shooting display that led to a 109-87 victory over the Hornets at Quicken Loans Arena.

Speedy Claxton led the Hornets with 16 points in the loss to Cleveland. Guard J.R. Smith netted 15 points, Wake Forest product Chris Paul, the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft, dropped in 13 and David West and Chris Andersen added 11 points apiece.

The rookie Paul is averaging 13.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 rebounds in his first two games in the NBA.

After tonight’s game, the Hornets return home for two contests. They will host the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks on the stand.