Rockets Shoot Past Suns, 107-89

Less than 24 hours after a double-overtime loss to the Lakers, the Houston Rockets displayed some resilience behind the shooting of Glen Rice.

Rice made seven three-point baskets and scored 23 points, Cuttino Mobley scored 22 and Yao Ming outdueled Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire, his primary competition for rookie of the year, and Houston beat the Suns, 107-89, Wednesday night at Phoenix.

“This was a big win considering the devastation of last night,” Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “We were heartbroken on that, and we talked about not feeling like victims and how you’ve got to move on. I can’t tell you how proud I am of these guys.”

Eddie Griffin contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Rockets to a 57-32 rebounding advantage, and the reserves contributed 47 points.

The Rockets’ reserves outscored Phoenix, 21-18, in the second quarter, when Houston went from a 22-18 deficit to a 50-40 halftime lead.

Rice, who played his second game after sitting out four weeks because of a shoulder injury, tied his season high for points. Maurice Taylor added 13 points and Moochie Norris 11.

“It’s a sense of urgency, man,” Mobley said. “We always play good when our backs are against the wall. Moochie, Mo Taylor, the bench came in and carried us.”

Yao, denied a rematch with the injured Shaquille O’Neal the night before, had 12 points and 12 rebounds in his second game against Stoudemire, who managed only 11 points and three rebounds.

Portland 125, Golden State 98 -- Bonzi Wells scored 29 points at Portland -- 26 in the first half -- in the first meeting between the two teams since Dec. 20 in Oakland when a postgame brawl broke out after Rasheed Wallace’s 16-foot jumper won it, 113-111.

Wells and Chris Mills scuffled, Wallace tried to charge into the stands after a fan apparently threw a wad of gum at him and Mills reportedly blocked the Trail Blazers’ bus with his car as the team was headed to the airport.

Portland took a 76-49 halftime lead, the most first-half points scored in the NBA this season. The Trail Blazers led by as many as 33 points.

New Orleans 87, Washington 75 -- Jamal Mashburn made a three-pointer and two runners as the Hornets scored on eight of nine possessions down the stretch to break open a tight game at New Orleans.

Detroit 89, Toronto 84 -- Chauncey Billups made a key three-pointer with 19.4 seconds left at Toronto as the Pistons won for the ninth time in 10 games. They improved to 37-16 overall and 17-11 on the road. Only Dallas and Portland have better road records.

Philadelphia 110, Chicago 82 -- The 76ers turned a tight game into a laugher at Chicago, outscoring the Bulls, 36-8, in the third quarter. The Bulls made only three baskets in the quarter and went scoreless for the last 5:17. They threatened the franchise low for points in a quarter, missing it by two.

Seattle 103, New York 94 -- Gary Payton scored 31 points and Rashard Lewis had 26 to help the SuperSonics end a six-game losing streak.

Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell each scored 22 points for the Knicks, who lost for the second time on their West Coast trip after getting off to a promising start with wins over Phoenix and the Lakers.

Minnesota 85, Denver 77 -- The Timberwolves completed a four-game season sweep of the Nuggets. Kevin Garnett, who scored 25 points and had 14 rebounds, registered his 44th double-double of the season.