ATLANTA, Jan. 21 (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Hawks showed plenty of fight in stopping a six-game losing streak.

Sparked by losing their best player following an altercation late in the third quarter, the Hawks watched Jason Terry take control in the final period en route to a 95-91 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Leading by two points late in the third quarter, the Hawks lost forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim for the afternoon after he was ejected for fighting with Kenny Thomas.

NBA.comTV highlights from Rockets-Hawks: 56k | 300k Jason Terry's hot fourth quarter helped the Hawks snap a six-game losing streak. Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty Images

Battling for position near the free throw line, Abdur-Rahim and Thomas became entangled in a scrum under the Houston basket. Abdur-Rahim and Thomas threw punches, drawing an automatic suspension for each player.

Prior to the altercation, Abdur-Rahim was the target of hard contact by Thomas on the previous trip down the floor. Abdur-Rahim argued the no-call and was whistled for a technical foul and Cuttino Mobley hit the free throw to bring Houston within 65-63 with 63 seconds left in the period.

"The play before that was what Reef was responding to and then he took a couple of elbows at the other end," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "I thought the guys responded to the skirmish in a positive way."

"Tempers kind of flared up. Sometimes, you need a little bit of that," Terry said. "Unfortunately, it happened to Reef. I was more trying to break it up and get guys out of there. You don't want anybody falling and getting trampeled on. You're trying to pull guys off and that's what I was trying to do."

Rahim did not speak to the media.

Atlanta held a two-point advantage entering the fourth quarter but Terry scored the final five points of a 9-0 run that gave the Hawks an 86-73 cushion with 5:42 remaining.

"I knew we had a run in us. I just didn't know when it would happen," Terry said. "Luckily, it happened early in the fourth. The key was us stopping them and once we stopped them, we were able to do what we wanted offensively."

Terry finished with 19 points and Nazr Mohammed had 18 and 17 rebounds for the Hawks, who also stopped a four-game skid at Philips Arena.

"I'm trying to be selfish on the boards and get as many as I can and let the offense come to me," Mohammed said. "Me, I'm a garbage man. If it's there, it's there. If it's not, I just have to get it off the rim."

Steve Francis, who missed two of the previous three games with migraine headaches, fell a rebound shy of a second straight triple-double for Houston. The star guard finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.

Mobley netted 26 points and rookie Eddie Griffin added 16 and nine rebounds for Houston, which concluded a 1-4 road trip.

Hanno Mottola started the decisive burst for the Hawks in the fourth quarter with a short hook shot with 8:03 remaining. Mohammed made a 14-footer and Terry capped the burst with a dunk and 3-pointer for the 13-point cushion.

Despite falling into that hole, the Rockets battled back, using a 14-3 spurt to draw within 89-87 with 82 seconds remaining on a jumper by Francis, who made 10-of-20 shots.

After Mohammed and Kelvin Cato traded baskets from in close, Mark Strickland, a 56 percent free throw shooter, sank a pair from the line with 25 seconds to make it 93-89.

Abdur-Rahim scored 16 points before getting ejected for the second time in his career and reserve Dion Glover added 15 for the Hawks, who shot 44 percent (36-of-81) and made 12-of-19 3-pointers.

Behind Mobley, the Rockets got off to a good start, leading by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and holding a 45-39 lead at intermission. Mobley had 17 points in the half.

Houston, which received only five points from its bench, shot 46 percent (34-of-74) and committed 19 turnovers.