The Houston Rockets, after blowing away opponents early in their winning streak, now are specializing in blowing away deficits.
The Rockets set an NBA record with four consecutive victories by 27 or more points from Feb. 16-23, but they've needed some comeback magic to extend the streak to 15 games.Houston, which beat Orlando on Tuesday night after trailing by 17 points, did it again Thursday night, rallying from a 68-52 deficit in the third quarter to beat the Golden State Warriors 98-85.
"One way or another, we find a way to get it back," said Hakeem Olajuwon, who had 35 points and 12 rebounds in 45 minutes.
Vernon Maxwell, who played 18 minutes without scoring a point against Orlando, supported Olajuwon with 25 points and six 3-pointers for the Rockets.
The Rockets can become the 10th NBA team with 16 or more consecutive victories when they travel to Portland tonight.
Celtics 105, Nuggets 101
Boston rallied from an 11-point deficit to win at Denver as Xavier McDaniel scored 16 of his 20 points on 7-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter.
It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Nuggets and their second straight at home after they won 13 of 14 games at McNichols Arena.
Denver led 86-75 going into the fourth period before Boston hit 12 of its first 14 shots of the quarter, including five by McDaniel, for a 100-99 lead with 1:54 left.
SuperSonics 131, Kings 111
Seattle beat Sacramento for its eighth consecutive home victory behind Shawn Kemp's 27 points and 17 rebounds.
Kemp's 11 field goals in 15 attempts included seven dunks as the Sonics, 11-3 since the All-Star break, beat the Kings for the 7th straight time in Seattle and mathematically clinched a playoff spot.
Heat 133, Clippers 117
Miami won for the 10th time in 12 games and improved the fifth-year expansion teams overall record against Los Angeles to 9-3, including 5-1 at the Sports Arena.
Glen Rice scored 26 and tied his own club record with seven 3-pointers, and Rony Seikaly had 23 points and 20 rebounds for the Heat.
Knicks 115, Cavaliers 95
New York continued its pattern of ending long road losing streaks this season, winning for the first time in 12 games at Cleveland's Richfield Coliseum.
The Knicks, whose eight-game winning streak is their longest since a nine-game streak in 1989, also ended a 23-game regular-season losing streak at Boston and a 13-game streak at Chicago.
The Cavaliers, who won their previous 12 games at home, were whistled for six technicals and a flagrant foul. Coach Lenny Wilkens was ejected in the third quarter and Brad Daugherty and Larry Nance both were thrown out for yelling at officials.
Hornets 113, Timberwolves 85
Larry Johnson had the first triple-double in Charlotte history with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in three quarters against Minnesota.
Rookie Alonzo Mourning added 23 points and Johnny Newman 20 as the Hornets won by their biggest margin of the season and handed the Timberwolves their 23rd loss in 29 road games.
Charlotte led 27-15 after one quarter and 64-35 at halftime, both season-lows in scoring for Minnesota.
Johnson completed his triple-double with a pass to Kenny Gattison for a layup with 7.5 seconds left in the third quarter. The basket gave the Hornets an 88-58 lead, and Johnson did not play in the fourth quarter.