Houston scores 35 in fourth quarter

ATLANTA (AP) -- Cuttino Mobley scored 13 of his 15 points in the

fourth quarter and the Houston Rockets overcame a 14-point deficit

to beat the Atlanta Hawks 86-77 Saturday night.

Steve Francis had 24 points, and Jim Jackson added 18 to help

Houston extend its winning streak to three games.

The Hawks, who beat Boston 100-96 on Friday night to win

back-to-back games for the first time this season, appeared to be

poised to make it three in a row until Mobley got hot.

Trailing 66-52 after a pair of free throws by Atlanta's Shareef

Abdur-Rahim with 10:41 left, the Rockets went a 24-4 run with

Mobley scoring 13 points, including three 3s. He capped the run by

taking a rebound away from Abdur-Rahim and dribbling the length of

the court for a layup and a 76-70 lead with 1:07 left.

Yao Ming, who along with Francis, will start for the West in the

NBA All-Star game on Feb. 15, scored only seven points. Yao was

2-of-11 from the field and was not in the game when the Rockets

went to a smaller lineup in the final 10 minutes.

The Hawks had their largest lead at 66-52 on a pair of free

throws by Abdur-Rahim as Houston went cold from the field, going

11:54 without a basket.

Jim Jackson hit a 3-point basket with 10:06 left in the third

period for a 46-43 Rockets' lead, but Houston didn't get another

until Jackson hit another 3-pointer with 1:48 gone in the fourth

period to get Houston within 66-55. The Rockets had six free throws

in between baskets.

The Hawks, who trailed by as many as 10 points in the opening

quarter, outscored the Rockets 21-12 in the second quarter to take

a 41-38 lead at intermission.

Abdur-Rahim had 20 points for the Hawks and Stephen Jackson

added 16.Game notes
Atlanta G Jacque Vaughn missed his second straight game

with a sprained left ankle. ... This was the first of only two

games this season between the two clubs. They will play again in

Houston on Feb. 22. ... Abdur-Rahim has made 73 of his last 77 free

throws, including 6-for-6 against Houston. ... The crowd of 19,445

was Atlanta's fifth sellout of the season.