HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Houston Rockets had a third quarter to forget, but down the stretch, Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis proved they had short memories.

Mobley and Francis scored 12 points apiece in the final 12 minutes as the Rockets rallied past the New Orleans Hornets, 97-85.

Houston trailed, 79-76, after Baron Davis nailed a 3-pointer with 5:21 remaining. But the Rockets scored the next 13 points, including seven by Mobley, and closed the game on a 21-6 run.

Recent acquisition James Posey put Houston ahead for good, 80-79, on a layup following an offensive rebound with 4:23 to play.

"We really needed (the win)," said Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, whose team shot a franchise-low 29.5 percent in a loss to New York on Friday. "It was more than one win, especially after what happened Friday. I couldn't be happier how we responded."

Mobley finished with 24 points and eight rebounds and Francis 23, seven and five assists as the Rockets snapped a three-game losing streak. Houston also extended the Hornets' losing streak to four games - their longest since December 30-January 15.

"We didn't come with it in the fourth quarter," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "We just kind of let it slip away down the stretch. You can't feel sorry for ourselves because we've spent a lot of time on the road. You still have to make plays at the key times that will win you a ball game. We didn't do that tonight."

The Hornets scored the last two points of the second quarter and the first 12 of the third to take a 55-52 advantage. The Rockets missed their first 13 shots of the second half before Mobley made a layup with just 4:34 left in the third period.

New Orleans extended its lead to 67-59 entering the fourth quarter. Houston's seven points were its fewest ever in the third quarter and matched its franchise low for any quarter - the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 15, 1991.

"We didn't run anything (offensively in the third)," Mobley said. "They pushed us out of position. They were trying to be a little physical in the third. That's East Coast defense. You have to take it to the cup."

It also was the fewest points the Hornets had allowed in the third quarter and matched their franchise low in any period. They had yielded just seven points in the second quarter against Miami on December 23, 1995.

Jamal Mashburn scored 25 points to pace the Hornets, who lost for the seventh time in eight games and for the sixth time in seven road contests.

"I wish we had flip-flopped the third and fourth quarters," Mashburn said. "Down the stretch, we made some silly mistakes and they took over the game."

Houston shot 68 percent in the first quarter to take a 33-21 lead. The Hornets climbed within 52-43 by halftime before making their big third-quarter run, but they could not hold off the Rockets in the fourth quarter.

"A lot of times when a team puts a run on you they tank it," said Rockets forward Glen Rice, who scored just five points. "We didn't get it in the basket (in the third quarter). That's OK. Fight hard on the defensive end and they'll start missing shots, and that's what happened."

"We got stagnant on the offensive end and everything was isolation, and we can't win that way," said Davis, who scored 14 points before fouling out in the last minute. "We made mistakes down the end and we can't do that. We had opportunities to win the game."