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Monday, Jan. 17 8:30pm ET
Francis scores 31, Thomas adds 20 | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
DALLAS (AP) -- Steve Francis is growing up on the fly, following the advice of future Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon. The rookie point guard scored a career-high 31 points and had 11 assists as the Houston Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 121-111 on Monday night. "He (Olajuwon) keeps telling me to be aggressive," Francis said. "I'm still feeling things out. When I have the ball, I'm thinking about creating for my teammates first. If the defense backs off me, then I have to take the shot and it was there tonight." Nobody on the Mavericks could handle Francis, who was 8-of-16 from the floor and hit 14 of 15 free throws. "He's so talented," said Olajuwon, who returned to action after missing 22 games because of an inguinal hernia. "He should never have a bad game. Even if he doesn't score, he can still create things for the rest of us. A bad game for him would be a good game for most guys." Kenny Thomas, also a rookie, added a career-high 20 points and matched his career-high with 12 rebounds for the Rockets, who won their third straight to match their longest streak of the season. Cuttino Mobley and Walt Williams had 17 points each. Olajuwon had been out of action since Nov. 26. He went scoreless for the first time in his career, playing 14 minutes and missing four shots. Olajuwon did have an impact, however, with seven rebounds and three blocks. "It will take me a while before I get comfortable out there again," Olajuwon said. "But I was still able to do some things. I'm just trying to fit in." Dallas' Cedric Ceballos scored a season-high 39 points, 19 in the third quarter, before fouling out with 45.2 seconds left. Michael Finley added 31 points for Dallas, which had won three of its previous four games. Dallas got as close as 99-97 on Dirk Nowitzki's two free throws with 3:32 to play. But Francis hit a layup, then converted two free throws on Houston's next possession with 2:46 to go for a 103-97 advantage. After Finley's drive with 2:32 left, Matt Bullard connected on a 3-pointer to extend the Rockets' advantage to 106-99. The Mavericks were unable to get closer than five points the rest of the way. "That was a big three," Francis said. "That put us over the hump." Ceballos scored Dallas' final 15 points of the third quarter, including a steal and layup with five seconds left in the quarter, to reduce Houston's lead to 90-82 entering the final quarter. The Rockets came out with more energy than the Mavericks, rolling to a 35-22 first-quarter lead. Houston was ahead 60-42 at halftime. "I'm very disappointed with our performance in the first half," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "I didn't expect it. I thought we were on a roll. I didn't believe this team would not be ready tonight." Game notesHouston's straight victories have all come in the road. ... Francis matched his previous career high of 27 points Saturday night against Chicago. ... Nelson is two short of 900 career victories. ... Finley has played in 334 consecutive games, the third-longest active streak in the league. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Houston Clubhouse Dallas Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 105 Washington 101
Houston 121
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