McGrady leads Rockets past Cavaliers with 34 points

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Tracy McGrady scored 34 points and
Rafer Alston added 18 as the Houston Rockets edged the
Cleveland Cavaliers 90-81 in National Basketball Association
play on Thursday in Cleveland.

Juwan Howard added 16 points and had nine rebounds for the
Rockets, as their top three scorers accounted for 68 of
Houston’s 90 points.

But it was the Rockets’ tenacious defense that made the
difference as Houston held Cleveland to just 35 points in the
first half and to 43 percent shooting in the game.

LeBron James had 32 points for the Cavs and hauled down
nine rebounds, with most of his production coming in the second
half as Cleveland tried to rally from a 14-point first-half
deficit.

James was coming off a triple-double on Tuesday night
against Milwaukee, but Larry Hughes broke his finger in that
game and will be sidelined from six to eight weeks.

The Cavaliers missed his presence on Thursday, losing for
just the second time in their past 10 games.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 17 points and 10 rebounds for
Cleveland, while Donyell Marshall was the only other Cavalier
in double figures, scoring 11 points.

Cleveland (19-11) trails Detroit by seven games in the
Central Division standings after the loss.

The Rockets won their second straight game for only the
third time in their past nine as they improved to 12-18.

Houston was once again without the injured Yao Ming, but
McGrady helped make up for his absence by scoring more than 30
points for the fourth straight game.

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Vancouver)