RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- Rick Pitino preached defense Wednesday and the
Boston Celtics listened.
Boston, which entered the game with the NBA's third-worst
defense, clamped down against the Houston Rockets in a 96-81
victory that ended the Celtics' two-game losing slide.
|  | | Antoine Walker takes a shot as Hakeem Olajuwon (34) and Cuttino Mobley defend in the second quarter. |
It was the fewest points scored against Boston this season.
The Celtics had yielded 100 points or more in five of their
previous seven outings and were allowing opponents 98.9 points per
game.
Before the game, Pitino promised to finish the season with the
Celtics but said "there won't be a next year for me" unless the
team starts playing better defense.
After the victory, he said, "That was probably the best ball
movement, the best defense we've shown all year."
The Rockets made only 28 of 88 shots from the field (37.5
percent) and were outrebounded 55-45 as their four-game winning
streak ended.
"We talked about being at a crossroads, where you want to be
considered with the other top teams in the league, before the
game," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "This was a chance to
come in and win and we just weren't there."
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 16 points.
"We are the team that fell behind by 20 the last two games and
we didn't want to do that again, especially at home," Pierce said.
Cuttino Mobley led the Rockets with 17 points, while Hakeem
Olajuwon added 11 points and six rebounds.
"Their coach motivated them this afternoon and they showed it
tonight," Mobley said.
Antoine Walker had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics
(5-6). Bryant Stith and Walter McCarty both contributed 14 points
and Doug Overton -- signed on Tuesday -- added 10.
"Our coach is not our concern," Walker said. "We don't need
any extra motivation. What happened today was a distraction we
didn't need."
The Celtics outscored the Rockets 12-4 in the first four minutes
of the fourth quarter. Chris Carr's 3-pointer with 8:01 left in the
game gave Boston a 82-58 lead, their biggest of the night.
Mobley's three-point play cut the Boston lead to 86-68 with 4:52
on the clock. But the Rockets were never able to get their deficit
under double digits and fell to 1-5 on the road this season.
The Rockets went 10-of-45 from the field (22 percent) and turned
the ball over 11 times in the first half. Boston led 44-28 at
halftime.
Game notes
The Celtics activated rookie forward Jerome Moiso and
placed guard Adrian Griffin on the injured list with lower back
pain. ... Since Jan. 11, 1997, the Rockets are 7-37 in road games
against Eastern Conference opponents. ... The Rockets completed
their second of 17 sets of back-to-back games. Last year they were
6-11 on the first night and 5-12 the second. This season they are
1-1 on the first night and 0-2 the second.
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NBA Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
Pitino says he's gone if Celtics don't improve
RECAPS
Boston 96
Houston 81
Atlanta 78
New York 74
Charlotte 88
Philadelphia 73
Cleveland 86
Miami 67
Portland 93
Milwaukee 84
Minnesota 101
Vancouver 100
San Antonio 112
Seattle 85
Phoenix 97
New Jersey 85
Utah 116
Denver 78
LA Lakers 111
Golden State 91
Sacramento 100
Chicago 71
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