Rockets turn back Nuggets

"That was by far the most passionate that McGrady has played in some time," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I thought he was off the charts tonight, just very assertive on offense, vocal, on the board, defensively - I just thought he was great."

Yao Ming had 21 points and eight boards and Stromile Swift netted 15 and pulled down six rebounds for the Rockets, who snapped a two-game losing streak and have won four of their last six contests.

Carmelo Anthony poured in a game-high 34 points and Marcus Camby contributed 10 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Nuggets, who have lost two of their last three games.

"He [Anthony] needed some help and we couldn’t find anyone else to help him," Denver coach George Karl said.

A pair of Anthony free throws gave the Nuggets a 33-30 edge, but the Rockets reeled off a 14-6 spurt, including seven points from McGrady, to give Houston a 44-39 lead.

The Rockets outscored the Nuggets 30-20 in the second quarter and held a 46-44 edge at the break.

Houston opened the third quarter with a 16-6 run, highlighted by three- pointers from David Wesley and McGrady, to extend the lead to 62-50. However, Anthony scored all the points on a 10-2 spurt to narrow the gap to 64-60.

The Rockets held a 73-64 advantage heading into the final frame.

Andre Miller’s reverse layup made the score 76-70, but Houston responded with a 9-2 spurt, capped by Keith Bogans’ inside bucket, to make the score 85-72 with 4:20 to play.

The Rockets connected on 41.8 percent of their shots, while the Nuggets shot 33.3 percent from the floor.

Denver led 24-16 after 12 minutes of play,

Game Notes

Denver has lost eight of its last 10 games at Houston...The Rockets are 7-3 in their last 10 home games...The Nuggets have lost five of their last seven contests on the road...Houston’s Rafer Alston dished out seven assists...The Rockets’ bench scored 29 points.