Rockets roar past the ailing 76ers

Jason Terry, left, of the Atlanta Hawks drives as Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards defends at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, Monday. PHOTO: AFP

Cuttino Mobley scored 19 points, and China's Yao Ming and Jim Jackson each added 12 Monday to lead the Houston Rockets to a 74-66 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Rockets, who won for the seventh time in nine games, took a lead late in the first quarter and never trailed again. They led by as many as 15 in the fourth.

The Rockets shot only 33 percent, but the Sixers were even worse at 32 percent. Houston went 9-for-28 from 3-point range, while the Sixers missed all nine attempts.

Allen Iverson scored 15 for the Sixers, who had their lowest point total of the season. They played without starters Derrick Coleman (left knee strain) and Glenn Robinson (left ankle strain).

Knicks 89, Celtics 86

In New York, Michael Doleac scored the Knicks' final four points and grabbed eight of his nine rebounds while playing the entire fourth quarter to help New York defeat Boston.

Doleac, subbing for starting center Dikembe Mutombo, hit the Knicks' final shot from the field with 1:55 remaining, and his two free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining provided the final margin. Paul Pierce missed an off-balance 3-pointer on Boston's last possession.

The win was only the third of the season for the Knicks, who got 26 points from Allan Houston and 21 from Keith Van Horn -- 13 in the third quarter when the Knicks made up most of a big deficit.

Kurt Thomas added 12 points and 17 rebounds, and Howard Eisley had nine assists. New York snapped its eight-game losing streak to the Celtics.

Vin Baker led Boston with 20 points.

Wizards 106, Hawks 97

In Atlanta, Jarvis Hayes keyed a fourth-quarter run with a go-ahead 3-pointer as Washington snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Atlanta.

Larry Hughes led the Wizards with 26 points, and Gilbert Arenas added 23. Washington outscored the Hawks 30-19 down the stretch, started by the 3 from Hayes.

Hayes, who played for two years at Georgia, rebounded from a shaky start to finish with 16 points. He has started every game in place of Jerry Stackhouse, who's out indefinitely after having knee surgery before the season.

Jason Terry had 25 points for Atlanta, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 20.

Mavericks 105, Trail Blazers 98

In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki overcame a slow start to energize a third-quarter rally, and Steve Nash had his first career triple-double to lead Dallas past Portland.

Nowitzki, who made his first two shots and then went more than 27 minutes without scoring again, had 20 points and eight rebounds. Nash had 14 points, 12 assists and a career-high 10 rebounds, the final one coming in the closing seconds and drawing a loud roar from fans.

Rasheed Wallace had 31 points and eight rebounds, and Zach Randolph had 26 points, 19 rebounds and six assists, but it wasn't enough to keep Portland from falling to 0-4 on the road.

It was the first meeting between the Mavericks and Blazers since their seesaw playoff series last spring won by Dallas in seven games.

Jazz 90, Magic 88

In Salt Lake City, Andrei Kirilenko scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, Matt Harpring had 14 points and 19 rebounds and Utah extended Orlando's losing streak to 10 straight games.

Greg Ostertag had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Carlos Arroyo had 16 points and five assists for the Jazz, who remained unbeaten at home.

Tracy McGrady finished with 29 points to lead the Magic, but had just three points in the final quarter on four shots. McGrady missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have snapped the Magic's losing streak. Juwan Howard added 21 points for Orlando, which hasn't won since opening night.