Behind a team record-tying 17 3-pointers, the Rockets snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 115-110 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Houston also made 17 3-pointers against Toronto on March 25, 1999.
The Rockets, plagued by injuries all season, had gone more than a month since their last win, a 94-87 victory at Portland on November 20. Houston made 10-of-23 3-pointers in that win and 17-of-35 on Saturday.
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from Bucks-Rockets: 56k | 300k  Moochie Norris rejoices after Rockets finally end 15-game skid. Bill Baptist NBAE/Getty Images |
"I'm just so happy for my guys," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Now we can have a nice Christmas. It's been a long time since we won. I'm just grateful that they are so courageous. I'm so proud of them."
Cuttino Mobley scored 39 points for the Rockets, two shy of his career high. After the buzzer sounded, he raised his hands at midcourt and looked into the stands.
"I was looking at my son and my mother," Mobley said. "We needed that one. I think we should all go to church tomorrow."
Rookie Eddie Griffin's 3-pointer gave Houston a 108-105 lead with 52 seconds to play. Kelvin Cato made 3-of-4 free throws around a pair of misses by Milwaukee's Sam Cassell to make it 111-105 with 19.5 seconds left.
Glenn Robinson, who scored 29 points, drilled a 3-pointer for the Bucks with nine seconds to go, but Mobley made a pair from the line a second later for a 113-108 lead.
Following a jumper by Milwaukee's Tim Thomas, Mobley clinched the win with two more from the line with four seconds left.
Griffin contributed 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who got 22 points from Walt Williams.
"I just feel relieved right now," said the 19-year-old Griffin, who was 4-of-7 from 3-point range. "It's important to get the win and it's a relief to have the streak over."
"I didn't know he could shoot the ball that well," Milwaukee coach George Karl added. "For a young kid who's 6-10 to shoot that well, he has a good future."
Cassell totaled 28 points for the Bucks, who played without guard Ray Allen, a last-minute scratch due to left knee tendinitis. It ended Allen's string of 388 consecutive starts.
"It does change the game plan without Allen," Cassell said. "Tonight shows how much we miss him. This is a game we're supposed to win."
Desperate for a win any way he could get it, Tomjanovich adopted a novel approach. He made no substitutions in the second half. The Rockets got just two points off the bench, a basket by Terence Morris in the second quarter.
"It wasn't by design," Tomjanovich said. "It just kind of unfolded that way. We had it going pretty good with them (the starters), so we stuck with it. I was afraid if I put in someone who would be cold, it would disrupt the rhythm. I felt we had control of the game, so we just went with the flow."
The Bucks' defense was virtually non-existent in the second half, when the Rockets scored 72 points. Milwaukee led, 45-43, at the intermission.
"We didn't get anything done tonight," Karl said. "We didn't cover the ball and we didn't cover the shooter. I stress passing the ball and making stops. We passed the ball and executed well enough on offense to win, but we didn't make stops."
Mobley (7-of-13) and Williams (6-of-10) combined for 13 of the Rockets' 3-pointers.
"We were watching tape of Milwaukee with coach and he said, ‘Man, I wish I could suit up tonight,'" Mobley said. "He knew we'd get a lot of open shots against their defense. It was up to us to make them and we did."
"There's a lot of teams that can't make 17-of-35 without anyone defending them," Karl added.