Rockets' winning streak hits 11; Bulls up next
The Houston Rockets' winning streak just got a whole lot more impressive.
Yao Ming had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and the Rockets won their 11th straight game, 100-80 over the Western Conference-leading New Orleans Hornets on Friday night in New Orleans.
"We talked about making a statement," said Rockets coach Rick Adelman, whose team also set a franchise record with 10 consecutive road victories. "We feel we're playing as well as anybody in the league right now and we want to show that we can continue to do that by playing the best teams and getting the win."
Houston goes for its 12th straight win Sunday against the new-look Bulls.
Tracy McGrady scored 34 points on an array of perimeter jumpers, driving layups through crowds and soaring dunks, helping Houston build an early double-digit lead it maintained throughout the second half in snapping New Orleans' five-game winning streak.
Cavaliers 90, Wizards 89: LeBron James made 2 free throws with 7.8 seconds left as shorthanded Cleveland, playing with just eight, had enough to beat visiting Washington.
James scored 33 points with 15 rebounds and 8 assists in 45 minutes for the Cavs, who added four players in an 11-player blockbuster deal Thursday but couldn't dress Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West or ex-Bulls Ben Wallace and Joe Smith.
Kings 116, Bobcats 115 (OT): Brad Miller had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Sacramento overcame his late turnover to hold off host Charlotte in a game marred by a scary head injury to Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace.
Wallace was knocked unconscious after he was hit in the nose by an inadvertent elbow from Kings forward Mikki Moore early in the third quarter. Wallace was on the floor for nearly 10 minutes before he was wheeled off on a stretcher and taken to local hospital.
A team official said Wallace regained consciousness and was released from the hospital late Friday. He was suffering from some amnesia, but tests showed no fractures or internal bleeding.
Pistons 127, Bucks 100: Chauncey Billups had 21 points and 12 assists to lead host Detroit to a rout of Milwaukee. A 32-11 second quarter gave the Pistons a 65-46 lead at halftime.
Magic 115, Sixers 99: Hedo Turkoglu scored a season-high 31 points, and Dwight Howard had 24 points and 18 rebounds for host Orlando in a win over Philadelphia.
Mavericks 98, Grizzlies 83: Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points and Jason Kidd had 15 assists in his second game for Dallas following a blockbuster trade to lead visiting Dallas. Jason Terry finished with 22 points for Dallas, going 9 of 15 from the field, while Josh Howard (9-of-27 shooting) added 20 points.
Pacers 113, Nets 103: Mike Dunleavy scored 34 points, and host Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak.
Travis Diener tied a career high with 19 points, and Jeff Foster added 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers.
Richard Jefferson scored 34 points and Bostjan Nachbar added 22 for the Nets.
Devin Harris, the point guard the Nets acquired in the trade that sent Jason Kidd to Dallas, sat on the bench because of a sprained left ankle. His absence was felt; New Jersey finished with 23 turnovers and 22 assists.
Knicks 103, Raptors 99: Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 43 points, leading New York over visiting Toronto in the opener of a home-and-home series.
Zach Randolph added 26 points and 15 rebounds, and made a layup with the Knicks clinging to a 2-point lead with 40 seconds remaining.