Tracy McGrady scored 25 of his 31 points in the second half and hit the go-ahead jumper to lift the visiting Houston Rockets to an 84-77 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
McGrady's long jumper with 1:19 left broke a 77-77 tie. Houston's Shane Battier blocked a driving layup by Ben Gordon with 25 seconds left. McGrady then hit one of two free throws to make it a three-point game and Chuck Hayes and Luther Head added two apiece.
It was the fifth 30-point performance in six games for McGrady, who hit just three of 10 shots in the first half.
PHOTO: AP
Juwan Howard added 16 points and nine rebounds, Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 16 rebounds and the Rockets won for the sixth time in eight games since Yao Ming broke a bone in his right leg.
Gordon led Chicago with 24 points and Luol Deng scored 20 after finishing with 30 in Saturday's 106-89 win over Detroit.
Clippers 100, Hornets 90
At Oklahoma City, Sam Cassell scored 31 points and Cuttino Mob-ley finished with 20 to lead the Clippers to the win.
Playing for the first time in three weeks, Cassell scored 10 points during Los Angeles' decisive 17-3 fourth-quarter surge, including a 3-pointer that gave the Clippers the lead for good at 79-77 with 9:12 to play.
Cassell had missed seven games with plantar fasciitis in his left heel before returning against the Hornets. Mobley hyperextended his left elbow last week at Miami.
Desmond Mason led New Orleans with 28 points for the second straight game, picking up his first consecutive 20-point games since his final three games with Milwaukee at the end of the 2004-2005 season.
Nuggets 104, Bucks 92
At Denver, Earl Boykins scored 26 points and Allen Iverson had 23 for the Nuggets.
The Bucks did not have injured guard Michael Redd available for the game and also lost guard Mo Williams during the game.
Ruben Patterson, who played for the Nuggets last season, started in Redd's spot and scored 29 points, three shy of his career high, and had 12 boards.
Marcus Camby added 19 points and 15 rebounds for Denver, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
Williams sprained his left shoulder just before halftime when he collided with Linas Kleiza near midcourt while going for the ball. Williams made it to his feet after a minute and missed two foul shots before leaving with 29 seconds left in the half. He didn't return and is listed as day to day.
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