It looked very bad, as the Cavaliers were in the midst of blowing an 18-point lead and their star guard was being helped off the court with a separated shoulder.

But suddenly, the sun peeked out from beneath the clouds. The Cavs held on to defeat Houston 107-102 last night at the Compaq Center, minutes after Andre Miller had emerged from the locker room.

With the Cavs leading 87-86 and with 5:30 remaining, Miller banged into Houston forward Kenny Thomas and hurt his shoulder. He was helped off the court.

But Miller returned to the bench with 2:30 left, and had a smile on his face. He didn't return to the game, and there was no immediate update on what his availability will be for tomorrow's game at Dallas.

The loss extended Houston's losing streak to 11 games, its longest since it dropped 13 in a row in 1977-78. Cavs coach John Lucas was a point guard on that team.

Lucas might be a former Rocket, but he was in no mood for charity against the Rockets, who were without three injured starters. The Cavs (9-12), who have won 7-of-10 since a 2-9 start, led 28-8 with three minutes left in the first period.