Once-hot Rockets fall again in blowout style

NEW ORLEANS — Former Houston swingman Bonzi Wells helped New Orleans hand the Rockets their second straight loss after a 22-game winning streak, scoring 20 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter in the Hornets' 90-69 victory Wednesday night.

David West, returning from a right ankle sprain that sidelined him for two games, had 23 points and 11 rebounds to help New Orleans (46-21) pull a half-game ahead of the Rockets for the Southwest Division lead and even with the Los Angeles Lakers atop the Western Conference.

Tracy McGrady, who scored only eight points in a 94-74 loss to Boston a night earlier, scored 15 against New Orleans, still well below his nearly 22-point-per-game average.

Chris Paul had 21 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, who extended their home winning streak to eight while ending the Rockets 12-game winning streak on the road.

Houston, which shot 41 percent against Boston, was even worse in New Orleans, finishing at 34 percent.

Luis Scola had 14 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with three minutes left. Shane Battier also scored 14, while Dikembe Mutombo and Rafer Alston each scored 10.

Tyson Chandler grabbed 15 rebounds for New Orleans, which overcame a 14-point first-half deficit.

CAVALIERS 89, PISTONS 73: At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 30 points, moving closer to becoming Cleveland's top career scorer, and the Cavaliers beat Detroit in the Pistons' first visit to Cleveland since losing Game 6 of last year's Eastern Conference finals.

James came in needing 35 points to pass Brad Daugherty as the Cavs' scoring leader. The NBA's leading scorer will likely break the mark on Friday when Cleveland hosts the Toronto Raptors in a potential first-round playoff preview.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 20 points and Wally Szczerbiak 10 for the Cavaliers, the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Rasheed Wallace scored 16 points and Richard Hamilton 14 for the Pistons, who were held to 63 fewer points than they scored in a 136-120 win over Denver on Tuesday.

RAPTORS 96, HEAT 54: At Toronto, the Raptors held Miami to the third-lowest point total in the shot-clock era.

Miami was just five points off the NBA record-low since the shot clock was introduced in the 1954-55 season, Chicago's 49-point effort against the Heat in April 1999.