Rockets blast Cavs for 9th straight

NEW YORK: The Houston Rockets went straight back to their winning ways after the All-Star break, beating the Cavaliers 93-85 in Cleveland on Tuesday to earn their ninth win in a row.

The win was also the ninth consecutive road triumph for the Rockets, matching the franchise's longest road winning streak. Houston also had to overcome a triple-double from the Cavs' LeBron James.

"We don't want to get tired of winning," said Houston's Tracy McGrady, who scored 17 points. "That's our motto, moving forward.

"A lot of people probably thought the break was bad for us because we had so much momentum, so much swagger, going into the break. But everybody came back focused and we said, 'Let's start it off right. Let's not get tired of winning.'"

They won despite 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists by James, who recorded his fifth triple-double of the season and the 15th of his career.

"I missed too many shots that I usually make," said James, who came under pressure from a strong Houston defense.

Rafer Alston had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds and Yao Ming posted 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who are fighting for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.

Houston began the night a shade out of the eighth and final playoff position.

Yao was just 3-for-17 and McGrady 6-for-21 on their field-goal attempts, but the Rockets still managed the win.

"This was really a positive win for us," said Houston coach Rick Adelman.

"We defended well the whole game and executed down the stretch. We missed some free throws but we executed down the stretch and it's a great road win."

In Auburn Hills, Michigan, the Orlando Magic ended the Detroit Pistons' 10-game winning streak with an impressive 103-85 road win with Rashard Lewis scoring 20 points and reserve Keith Bogans 19.

In Minneapolis, the Timberwolves snapped a five-game losing streak with a 104-88 home win over the Philadelphia 76ers as Rashad McCants scored 20 points off the bench and Al Jefferson had 19 points and 14 rebounds.

In Washington, the New York Knicks scored a franchise-record 23 points in the five-minute overtime and delivered a 113-100 road victory over the Wizards. Zach Randolph had 24 points and 10 rebounds for New York, which won for only the second time in the last 11 games.

In Denver, Kevin Garnett returned to the Boston Celtics after missing nine games with an abdominal strain but lost 124-118 to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets got 29 points from Carmelo Anthony and 28 from Allen Iverson to snap visiting Boston's five-game winning streak.

In Salt Lake City, the Utah Jazz earned their 13th win in 14 games with a 119-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Deron Williams scored 29 points and dished out 12 assists and Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur both posted double-doubles.

In San Antonio, the San Antonio Spurs returned from a nine-game road trip with an 85-65 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. Manu Ginobili scored 18 points in his team's third consecutive win.

Agencies

(China Daily 02/21/2008 page24)