Rockets End Losing Streak Against Spurs

Steve Francis scored 30 points and Cuttino Mobley had 26 for the Houston Rockets, who rallied from 20 points down Saturday night to defeat the San Antonio Spurs, 103-99, at Houston.

Matt Bullard, who had been out 15 games because of a stress fracture in his back, scored 18 points on six-of-seven three-point shooting to help lift the Rockets to their first victory over the Spurs in 12 tries.

“Bullard was great,” Francis said. “This was his first game back and I think Matt was the difference in the game.”

Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said Bullard opened things up for the rest of the team.

“We weren’t playing very well and we started making some adjustments,” Tomjanovich said. “Then Bullard started making those shots and they had to cover us on the perimeter. It opened some seams up for us inside.”

Bullard hit four consecutive three-pointers after halftime, including two in a row at the end of the third quarter to give Houston its first lead, 70-69 with 40 seconds left in the third.

He hit his fourth three-pointer early in the fourth to tie it again, 73-73.

“It was on me,” said the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, who had 29 points. “It was on my rotation a few times. They kind of surprised us the first time and we didn’t make the mental adjustment.

“They played incredible. I have to give it to them. They shot incredibly and Bullard was hitting them from all over the court.”

Milwaukee 87, Philadelphia 78--Tim Thomas came off the bench to score 22 points, nine in the fourth quarter, as the Bucks defeated the short-handed 76ers at Milwaukee.

Philadelphia, with the NBA’s best road record, started a four-game trip without Coach Larry Brown and star Allen Iverson.

Brown is scheduled to miss the first two games of the trip to undergo medical tests. Iverson remained in Philadelphia to get treatment for a hip pointer.

Aaron McKie had 23 points and 10 assists starting in place of Iverson and Tyrone Hill added 13 points.

Miami 95, Vancouver 81--Reserve guards Anthony Carter and Eddie House made up for the absence of Tim Hardaway and Eddie Jones, combining for 33 points at Miami as the Heat kept pace with its rivals in the Eastern Conference.

Carter, starting for only the third time this season, scored 17 points and had seven assists. House, a seldom-used rookie, scored 16 points off the bench and sparked a third-quarter surge that helped the Heat take command.

Hardaway was in Chicago because of a death in his family and Jones has sat out the last six games because of a dislocated shoulder.

Dallas 109, Phoenix 99--Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 of his 34 points in the third quarter and Steve Nash had 28 points as the Mavericks won their sixth in a row in beating the Suns at Dallas.

Michael Finley added 20 points, 11 assists and six rebounds as Dallas matched its longest winning streak in six years and avenged two blowout losses to Phoenix earlier this season.

Detroit 106, Atlanta 90--Jerry Stackhouse scored 31 points and Joe Smith added 16 as the Pistons ended a five-game road losing streak with a victory at Atlanta.

New York 101, Chicago 80--Latrell Sprewell scored 22 points, Marcus Camby had 19 and Kurt Thomas added 18 as the Knicks shot a season-high 62% and handed the Bulls their 20th consecutive road loss.

Charlotte 95, Washington 93--P.J. Brown scored a season-high 22 points and Elden Campbell added 18 as the Hornets rallied for a victory over the Wizards at Charlotte, N.C.