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 to 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 other National Basketball Association games, it was: Nuggets 124, Celtics 118; Magic 103, Pistons 85; Knicks 113, Wizards 100, OT; Jazz 119, Warriors 109; Spurs 85, Bobcats 65; Timberwolves 104, 76ers 88; SuperSonics 108, Grizzlies 101; Lakers 122, Hawks 93; and Kings 105, Trail Blazers 94.
In Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points, Allen Iverson added 28 and the Nuggets spoiled the return of Kevin Garnett, holding on for a 124-118 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Denver also halted the Celtics' dominance over Western Conference teams this season, snapping their string of 16 straight wins.
Garnett, who had been out since January 25 with a strained abdominal muscle, wasn't his flashy self, finishing with four points on 2-of-7 shooting in close to 21 minutes of action. He also had eight rebounds.
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rashard Lewis scored 20 points, reserve Keith Bogans added 19 and Orlando ended Detroit's 10-game winning streak.
In Washington, Zach Randolph had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Jamal Crawford added 21 points and New York broke a franchise record by scoring 23 points in overtime.
Three-pointers from Nate Robinson and Quentin Richardson and a pair of dunks from David Lee at the start of the extra period helped the Knicks pull away. New York broke the team mark of 19 overtime points, set in a victory over Detroit in 1964.
In Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 29 points and 12 assists, and Utah overcame a shaky first quarter to complete a sweep of the season series against Golden State.
All-Star Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Source:Xinhua
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