Mar 3, 2007, 6:35 GMT
Denver, CO - Tracy McGrady scored 28 points and dished out seven assists and Dikembe Mutombo grabbed a season-high 22 rebounds, as the Houston Rockets held off the Denver Nuggets, 108-97, at the Pepsi Center.
Juwan Howard posted 18 points and seven assists for Houston, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Luther Head scored 17 points, Shane Battier 15, and Rafer Alston netted 12.
The Rockets, who are a respectable 16-13 on the road this season, will host the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday at the Toyota Center.
Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points for Denver, which played the middle contest of a three-game homestand and has lost five of seven. Allen Iverson netted 19 points, Steve Blake 14, and Eduardo Najera and Linas Kleiza chipped in 10 points apiece. Marcus Camby blocked a season-high tying seven shots.
The Nuggets are 15-16 at home this season. They are scheduled to host the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Tuesday in the finale of the current stand.
Houston attained an early advantage by going on a 10-2 spurt sparked by a Howard jumper midway through the first for a 27-14 lead. Blake's trey with a tick left trimmed Denver's deficit to single digits, 35-26, heading into the second.
The Rockets built upon their lead on a 9-2 run capped by a McGrady three-point play midway through the stanza for a 53-41 margin. The Nuggets got going down the stretch on a 12-4 burst finished by an Iverson fade away and an Anthony slam in the final minute to trail just 60-55 at halftime.
Houston reclaimed control, scoring seven straight points to start the third, but Denver responded with the next six to keep pace on a six-point deficit, 67-61, with 8:16 remaining.
So, Houston put the game away. The Rockets responded with a 16-4 burst ended on Battier's trey with 3:15 remaining, and led 88-69 heading into the fourth.
Trailing 103-86 with less than three minutes to go, the Nuggets rallied on an 11-5 spurt capped by Blake's trey with three ticks left on the clock, but still failed to cut the final margin to single digits.
Game Notes
This was the third and final meeting of the regular season between the squads. The teams split the previous two contests, as both clubs picked up a win on the road...Houston has won three straight and four of its last five at Denver.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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