WASHINGTON (AP) Yao Ming scored 14 of his 21 points in the third quarter, and the Houston Rockets had a season-high 27 assists in Tuesday night's 93-80 victory over the Washington Wizards.

All five Rockets starters scored in double figures _ Cuttino Mobley, Steve Francis and Jim Jackson had 16 apiece, and Kelvin Cato scored 12. Yao shot 6-of-9 from the field, 9-of-10 on free throws and had 11 rebounds. Francis added 10 assists.

The Rockets, who have won five of seven, broke open a close game with a 14-3 run midway through the fourth quarter. Larry Hughes scored 23 points to lead the Wizards, who have lost 10 of 12.

Hawks 86, Spurs 77

ATLANTA (AP) Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 29 points and the Atlanta Hawks built a big lead and held on for a surprising victory.

The defending NBA champion Spurs lost for only the second time in their last 19 games.

Atlanta went cold in the fourth quarter, managing only two points in the first 5 minutes to let San Antonio make a game of it.The Spurs got as close as 75-73 when Tony Parker put back an offensive rebound with 2:23 left.

Jason Terry responded with a clutch 3-pointer out of the corner, and Stephen Jackson finished off his former team by hitting a long jumper with 34 seconds remaining, just beating the shot clock.

Jackson had 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

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