Winners of three straight and with a nice homecourt edge working for them this season, the Celtics looked like a pretty good bet against the Houston Rockets last night at the FleetCenter.

Looks can be deceiving.

The Rockets, lugging the considerable baggage of a 3-15 road record into Boston, left town with a hard-earned 104-101 victory over the Celtics, who squandered an opportunity to gain a game on New Jersey atop the Atlantic Division standings.

Steve Francis, returning