McGrady fuels Rockets' victory

PORTLAND, Ore. — Tracy McGrady scored 26 of his 35 points in the second half, and the Houston Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 95-88 Thursday night.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for Houston. The Rockets, once atop the Western Conference with a 22-game winning streak, are currently in fifth place with the Phoenix Suns.

Rookie Aaron Brooks' 3-pointer with 3:06 left made it 91-78 for Houston and all but sealed the victory, as fans started streaming out of the Rose Garden.

Brooks had 12 points for Houston. Bobby Jackson, Dikembe Mutombo and Luther Head each had 11 apiece.

The Blazers have lost four straight, and were officially eliminated from the playoffs with a 104-91 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

Portland has been without All-Star guard Brandon Roy over that stretch because of a groin injury.

Roy has improved, and could return for Sunday's game against San Antonio, although coach Nate McMillan said he remains day to day.

The Blazers were also without forward Martell Webster, who was hospitalized Thursday because of flulike symptoms and dizziness. Further details weren't immediately available.

Webster, averaging 10.7 points and 3.9 rebounds, leads the team with 123 3-pointers.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points, and Jarrett Jack added 19 for the Blazers.

BULLS 101, CAVALIERS 98: At Cleveland, Ben Gordon made five clutch free throws down the stretch and Larry Hughes scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half against his former team, rallying Chicago past the Cavaliers.

The Bulls, with nothing to play for in the season's final weeks, came back from 17 points down in the second half to snap a six-game road losing streak.

Hughes, traded by the Cavaliers to Chicago at the Feb. 21 deadline, added nine assists and eight rebounds. Gordon scored 24 points and Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni had 15 each.

LeBron James scored 33 for Cleveland — but just one in the fourth quarter on 0-for-5 shooting as his back tightened up.

KINGS 110, CLIPPERS 98: At Sacramento, Calif., Kevin Martin hit four 3-pointers while scoring 26 points, and the Kings avoided a four-game season sweep by the last-place Clippers.

Francisco Garcia scored 17 points and Mikki Moore added 16 for the Kings, who took a 20-point lead in the third quarter of their fourth victory in five games.