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Thursday, Jan. 13 10:30pm ET
Rockets end 7-game road skid | |||||
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GAME FLOW
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Cuttino Mobley outdid himself in the fourth quarter. Mobley scored 14 of his 23 points in the final period and the Houston Rockets held off the Golden State Warriors 108-100 Thursday night for their first road win in more than a month. "I don't remember having a quarter like that ever," Mobley said. "Me personally, I have been a little slow in the fourth quarter. I just tried to come back and go hard and the shots went in." Steve Francis added 19 points, Shandon Anderson had 17 and Walt Williams and Kenny Thomas 13 apiece for the Rockets, who snapped a seven-game road losing streak that began in Philadelphia on Dec. 8 in what turned out to be Charles Barkley's last game. "He's a very good one-on-one player," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "He made a big play in the paint when Shandon got an offensive rebound and threw it to him" for a fourth-quarter layup. "We've been beat up. We've been double beat up," added Tomjanovich. "But we just hung in there. We made some big plays at the end. A lot of different guys helped. It's really a big, emotional win for us." Golden State is still thirsting for that feeling after losing its 11th straight, matching a season high. The Warriors also lost 11 in a row from Nov. 17 to Dec. 7. Garry St. Jean remained winless in eight games since taking over Dec. 27 for the fired P.J. Carlesimo. "We were not cohesive on either end of the floor, especially on the defensive end in terms of rotation," St. Jean said. "This allowed (the Rockets) to get the shots they needed, whether it was off the drive or a penetration and kick out to the open man. "They had it their way tonight. We didn't set the tone. Mobley and Francis played well for them and (Anthony) Miller and Kenny Thomas played strong on the boards." Houston outrebounded the Warriors 51-47, including 13 by Miller, who made just his second career start at center. Thomas had 12 rebounds. "I just think our big men won the game for us, with their rebounding and their defense on the block," Francis said. Mookie Blayloock scored 25 points to lead the Warriors. Jason Caffey added 24 points and Antawn Jamison had 21. After being down by five heading into the fourth quarter, the Warriors pulled to 94-92 on Caffey's spinning layup with 3:45 remaining. But the Rockets made the key plays down the stretch, outscoring the Warriors 14-8 over the last 3:26. Francis and Thomas each converted three-point plays to ignite the finishing flurry and Mobley twice blew past defenders for layups. Williams finished a fast break with a layup and Bill Curley, signed by Houston earlier in the day, rebounded a missed free throw and put it in for another basket as part of Houston's 8-2 burst over the last two minutes of the third period to move in front 80-75. Moments after Blaylock converted a three-point play, Bryce Drew hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half, tying it at 53-all. Golden State broke away from a 13-all tie with 9-0 run capped by Jamison's offensive rebound and dunk, but the Rockets scored 10 of the next 12 points, pulling to 24-23 at the end of the first quarter on successive 3-pointers by Williams and Mobley. Game notesHouston won on the road for the first time since beating the Clippers in Los Angeles 109-96 on Dec. 2. ... The losing streak is Golden State's longest since dropping a club-record 17 straight from Dec. 20, 1964 to Jan. 26, 1965. ... Rockets forward Matt Bullard went 0-for-9 from the floor. ... Houston activated center Hakeem Olajuwon from the injured list but it's still uncertain when he'll play again after missing 20 games following hernia surgery Dec. 1. In other moves, the Rockets waived center Thomas Hamilton, placed center Kelvin Cato (sprained right wrist) on the injured list and signed Curley to a 10-day contract. Curley had 10 points in his Rockets debut. ... The Rockets got 54 points from their bench. ... Tony Farmer is the only Warrior to appear in all 35 games. ... The Warriors fell to 0-20 when the opposition scores 100 or more points. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Houston Clubhouse Golden State Clubhouse Rockets' Olajuwon activated after 20-game absence
RECAPS New Jersey 110 LA Clippers 105
Houston 108
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