Celtics end Rockets' streak; Mavs fall to L.A.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

STREAK OVER - Boston's Paul Pierce (34) is fouled by Houston's Luis Scola. The Celtics ended the Rockets' 22-game winning streak Tuesday, handing Houston a 94-74 defeat.

HOUSTON (AP) - The 22-game winning streak is over. Now the Houston Rockets have to make sure they reach the postseason in the wild Western Conference. Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics stopped the Rockets' remarkable run Tuesday night, pulling away in the second half for a 94-74 victory.

Garnett scored 22 points and Paul Pierce added 20 as Boston handed Houston its first loss since a 97-89 defeat to Utah on Jan. 27. Since then, the Rockets put together the second-longest streak in NBA history, which ended 11 victories shy of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 in a row.

"Our names will be mentioned there with Hall of Fame people," Rafer Alston said. "We have something to tell our kids."

Maybe so, but the Rockets are still a long way from even securing a playoff spot. The loss dropped them into a first-place tie with the Los Angeles Lakers atop the West, with New Orleans a half-game back.

And the Rockets play the Hornets on Wednesday night. With ninth-place Denver only six games behind the Rockets, nothing is assured.

"We've still got a heck of a lot to play for," Shane Battier said. "This loss will be forgotten pretty quickly."

Also last night, the Lakers held on for a 102-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks (see below).

Boston has a five-game lead on second-place Detroit in the East. The Celtics beat San Antonio 93-91 on Monday night and came to Houston with a businesslike approach.

"There wasn't really a lot of talking on the bus last night after the win," Garnett said.

"We got on the plane, it was real subtle. There wasn't a lot of talking and I know when we're like that, we're focused."

It was only Houston's second loss in 28 games and its fourth since a 97-93 loss in Boston on Jan. 2, a game Tracy McGrady sat out with a knee injury. The Rockets also lost for the first time in 11 games since Yao Ming went out with a season-ending foot injury on Feb. 26.

Boston blanketed McGrady all night, holding Houston's remaining All-Star to eight points on 4-for- 11 shooting. Other Rockets had routinely picked up the slack during the seven-week run whenever Mc- Grady struggled, but the Celtics never let that happen.

The Rockets scored a season-low 34 points in the second half on 11-for-33 shooting.

"It's not disappointing," McGrady said. "It's a hell of a team over there. They outplayed us. I've never seen a defense like that. I mean, if they play defense like that, night in and night out, the NBA is in trouble because that was defense at its finest."

"I loved the way we played defense tonight," Garnett said. "We had a lot of energy."

The Celtics outscored Houston 32-16 in the third quarter and built a 72-56 lead. Houston went 7-for- 16 from the field with six turnovers in the decisive quarter.

"All good things must come to an end," McGrady said.

• Lakers 102, Mavericks 100: Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and Vladimir Radmanovic scored 10 of his 21 in the final quarter, giving Los Angeles just enough to hold on in Dallas.

Nowitzki had 35 points, 11 rebounds and a seasonhigh five blocks, but missed a 3-pointer as time expired as the Mavericks' five-game winning streak was snapped. Dallas fell to 0-6 against teams with winning records since adding Jason Kidd.

Kidd had his worst game since arriving from New Jersey, with one point (0-for-3 shooting, including a missed 3-pointer in the final half-minute), seven assists and three rebounds in only 28 minutes. He was benched from 6:27 of the third to 5:51 of the fourth.

The Mavs (44-24) are currently in the No. 7 playoff slot. They host the Celtics on Thursday at 7 p.m.