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Thursday, Mar. 2 8:30pm ET
Sacramento 99, Houston 102 | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
HOUSTON (AP) _ Despite scoring a career-high 16 points, it was just another game for Moochie Norris. "This one is over. I'll be in the gym tomorrow working out like always," Norris said after helping Houston to a 102-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings Thursday night. "I always approach the game the same way. I come off the bench to help the team and I always have to be ready," Norris added. "Moochie was fantastic. He plays the boards, did some good passing and he hit the big 3. He is a great addition," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. Norris, who signed with Houston for the rest of the season Monday after playing on two 10-day contracts, has played parts of two seasons in the NBA and parts of four seasons in the CBA. The loss was Sacramento's sixth straight on the road and its seventh loss in the last nine games. "This has been the story for us the last couple of weeks. We get behind too much too early and have to play catch up," Sacramento's Chris Webber said. "We are going to stay positive and we will turn things around," Webber added. Cuttino Mobley led Houston with 22 points, 10 in the fourth period. Shandon Anderson had 19 points and Steve Francis 17. Webber led Sacramento with 29, Jon Barry added 19, Nick Anderson 14 and Tony Delk 12. Sacramento took its first lead since the first quarter when Webber and Predrag Stojakovic scored to give the Kings an 82-78 lead with 6:44 left. Houston came right back on 3-pointers by Francis and Mobley to tie it 84-84 with 4:51 left. With the score 88-88, Norris hit a 3-pointer, followed by Mobley's basket and a free throw to give Houston a 94-88 advantage. Mobley added two free throws with 1:01 remaining to put the Rockets ahead 96-91. Nick Anderson's 3-pointer cut Houston's lead to 96-94 with 52 seconds left, before two free throws each by Francis and Norris gave Houston a 100-96 lead. After a 3-pointer by Webber, Francis hit two free throws with five seconds left to seal the victory. After trailing 59-47 at the half, Sacramento came to life in the third behind Barry's play off the bench. Barry had 10 third-quarter points as the Kings pulled to 75-73 going into the final period. Anderson scored 12 points in the first 6:21 to give Houston a 16-9 lead. Kenny Thomas and Norris made 3-pointers in the final minute of the quarter to give the Rockets a 30-19 lead. Norris scored eight points in the first eight minutes of the quarter, as the Rockets moved ahead 53-34. The Kings then outscored Houston 13-6, including five by Webber, to cut their deficit to 59-47 at the half. ^Notes@ Houston is 10-4 this season when Anthony Miller starts. ... Mobley has led Houston in scoring 15 times this season, including the Rockets' last four. ... Sacramento has scored 100 or more points in 42 of 57 games this season. ... Sacramento's reserves have outscored its opponent's reserves 35 times this season. The Kings are 22-13 in those games. ... Jason Williams has recorded 10 or more assists 15 times this season. ... Houston activated center Kelvin Cato from the injured list Thursday. He was replaced on the injured list by forward Matt Bullard who is suffering from back spasms. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Sacramento Clubhouse Houston Clubhouse RECAPS Philadelphia 87 Washington 84
Houston 102 AUDIO/VIDEO   Moochie Norris hits from near halfcourt to end the first quarter.avi: 699 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||