Brooks, Rockets hand 76ers 12th straight loss
 | |
PHILADELPHIA -- Aaron Brooks scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half and the Houston Rockets held off a late surge before handing the Philadelphia 76ers their 12th straight loss, 96-91 on Friday night.
The 76ers (5-18) are on their longest skid since also dropping 12 in a row from Nov. 25-Dec. 20, 2006. They traded Allen Iverson near the end of that losing streak.
Iverson, in his third game back with Philadelphia after his short retirement, hit a pull-up jumper with 1:06 remaining in the fourth. But Brooks' step-back jumper ended the Sixers' hopes of winning for the first time since Nov. 18 against Charlotte.
Philadelphia 76ers' Elton Brand, left, fouls Houston Rockets' Carl Landry in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, in Philadelphia. Houston won 96-91Andre Iguodala scored 12 of his 24 points n the first quarter for the 76ers, who fell to 0-8 against Western Conference teams. Iverson finished with 20 but shot 7 of 18.
The Rockets (13-9) trailed by as many as 17 in the first quarter before cutting it to three at the end of the first half. Trevor Ariza followed his missed free throw by stealing a pass from Thaddeus Young and hitting a jumper as time expired to make it 51-48.
Luis Scola, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds, made a basket early in the third quarter to give the Rockets their first lead at 52-51. Elton Brand's basket gave Philadelphia a brief 54-53 lead, but the Rockets then went on a 13-0 run, keyed by two 3-pointers by Brooks and six points by Ariza.
Houston's reserves outscored the Philadelphia bench 46-6. Carl Landry had 20 points off the bench.
