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 The Rockets have won 16 of their last 17, and their current streak is their longest since their championship season of 1993-94. It is also the longest active streak in the NBA.
The Bulls kept it close through three quarters with help from their new players, but the Rockets' hot shooting in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach.
The Rockets were ahead by seven early in the fourth quarter before Bobby Jackson scored five straight points for Houston, capped by a nifty off-balance layup and the free throw that followed to make it 84-74.
It was Jackson's debut for the Rockets after he was traded from New Orleans on Thursday.
Three straight 3-pointers by Luther Head, McGrady and Jackson about midway through the fourth quarter made it 92-78.
Houston was ahead 96-84 when Shane Battier made three straight 3-pointers for the Rockets to push the lead to 16 points with about four minutes to play.
Houston led by two midway through the third quarter before three layups by Luis Scola sparked a 9-4 run to push the lead to 61-54 with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the quarter.
A jumper by Kirk Hinrich got Chicago within two points later in the quarter, but 3s by McGrady and Battier helped the Rockets stretch their lead to 74-66 about four minutes later.
The Rockets led 77-68 entering the fourth quarter.
Tyrus Thomas led the Bulls with 18 points, and Hinrich had 10 points and 10 assists.
The Bulls got significant playing time from Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes in their first game with Chicago since being traded from Cleveland in the deal that sent Ben Wallace and Joe Smith to the Cavaliers. Cedric Simmons, also acquired in the trade had two points in about two minutes of play.
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Hughes started strong, hitting his first two shots in his first-quarter debut and finished with 13 points. Gooden was in the game just 11 seconds before, getting his first foul in the first quarter. He finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, and had a nasty, two-handed slam dunk over Yao Ming in the third quarter that elicited several
'Wows' from the home crowd.
The game was tied at 28 in the second quarter when Houston outscored the Bulls 9-2 in a little more than two minutes to take a 37-30 lead with about five minutes left in the quarter.
The Rockets led by five after a 3-pointer by Alston with 37 seconds left, but a long 3 by Thabo Sefolosha seconds later cut Houston's halftime lead to 49-46.
The Rockets trailed by five in the first quarter before going on 7-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by McGrady as the shot clock ran down, to take a 20-18 lead after one.
Notes: Gerald Green, acquired by Houston in a trade with Minnesota on Thursday, was inactive, as was Shannon Brown, the fourth player sent to Chicago from Cleveland.
[Associated Press; By KRISTIE RIEKEN]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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