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Monday, Mar. 20 7:30pm ET
Rockets fall in 4th road game in 5 nights | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Houston Rockets' hellacious road trip is finally over. They've still got a long way to go on their road back to respectability. Playing their fourth road game in five nights, the Rockets lost their eighth straight on Monday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers ended a six-game losing streak of their own with a 98-85 win over the Rockets. "We're a road weary team, and that's about as ugly as it gets," said Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "The message I'm using is, 'We're using stumbling blocks as stepping stones.' " Bob Sura scored seven of his 16 points when Cleveland pulled away early in the fourth quarter and the Cavs got their first win since March 5. "It wasn't the prettiest of basketball games," said Cleveland coach Randy Wittman. "But we'll take it." Shawn Kemp and Lamond Murray added 17 points apiece and Andre Miller 12 for the Cavs, who were able to sit all their starters for the entire fourth quarter. "It sure beats some of the boring basketball we've seen," said Murray. "We finally just got into a flow." Rookie Steve Francis and Walt Williams had 17 points each for the Rockets, who lost Sunday by two points at Toronto on Vince Carter's dunk just before the final buzzer. There was no drama in this loss as the Cavs broke it open with an 11-2 run in the fourth. Sura hit a 3-pointer and had two layups in the spurt -- one on a nice feed from Cedric Henderson -- to help the Cavs open an 82-68 lead with 7:43 remaining. Hakeem Olajuwon scored just two points in 16 minutes for the Rockets, whose losing streak is their longest since they dropped 10 straight in 1982-83. Houston's days of dominance are long gone, and its once familiar lineup featuring names like Barkley, Horry and Pippen is now full of rookies and part-time players. Tomjanovich knows it could take awhile before the Rockets are back among the NBA's elite. "It hurts, you get some humility," Tomjanovich said. "Look at our situation. We have no continuity. If I could find a way to win like that, I'd ask for a raise. "The injuries have hurt. But every team that has been to the top has had to go through this. It's going to take some time." Miller, who had just six points on 1-of-6 shooting in an overtime loss to Miami on Saturday, scored 10 points in the third quarter as the Cavs opened a 69-62 entering the fourth. Williams scored Houston's first 13 points of the second half and assisted on a beautiful alley-oop dunk by Francis, who followed it with a steal and dunk and hit a jumper to put the Rockets up 58-54. However, Murray hit a 3-pointer and Miller scored on a drive as the Cavs closed the quarter with a 13-4 spurt. "We were able to get out and get some easy baskets," Sura said. "We knew they were tired and we took advantage of that." In a first half that ended in a 39-39 tie, both teams showed why they're not in playoff contention with some atrocious play. Olajuwon played just five minutes for the Rockets, who shot 44 percent from the field, 25 percent from the line and committed 11 turnovers. The Cavs were worse, shooting 37 percent from the floor.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Houston Clubhouse Cleveland Clubhouse RECAPS Philadelphia 102 Charlotte 96
Cleveland 98
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