Los Angeles - The Houston Rockets turned a big loss into a huge win.

Ron Artest scored all 18 of his points in the second half, and the Rockets overcame the absence of flu-ridden Yao Ming to beat the New Orleans Hornets 95-84 on Monday night.

"I can't say enough about the win, we got a lot of contributions from a lot of different people," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "It's a big road win against a team that's right next to us in the standings."

The Rockets prevented the Hornets from passing them without 7-foot-6 Chinese superstar Yao, along with his 19.7 points and 9.6 rebounds average.

Instead, Houston pulled within 1.5 games behind Southwest Division leaders San Antonio with seldom-used Dikembe Mutombo. The ageless 42-year-old filled in admirably at centre, contributing one point, six rebounds and three blocks in his 25-minute stint

"I thought he was terrific for not playing for a long time." Adelman said of Mutombo, who had logged just 20 minutes in four games this season. "He came out and controlled the paint area and had some blocks.

"It really doesn't surprise you, yet it really does in a lot of ways," he continued. "You don't expect it, but he was ready to go."

Argentine Luis Scola had 14 points with 12 rebounds, Aaron Brooks also scored 14 for Houston (44-25) which ended New Orleans' home winning streak at five games.

Chris Paul had 29 points with 11 assists and six steals, while David West finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets (41-25) who dropped to sixth place in the Western Conference playoff picture.

"We lost one that we should have won," Paul said. "They got just about everything they wanted in the second half with layups and free throws and that's what hurt us."

The Hornets started the third quarter on an 8-0 run to stretch a three-point halftime lead to 55-44. However, Artest, who missed his first 11 shots in the opening half, got on tracked.

He scored 10 in a 23-9 closing run to help the Rockets take a 67-64 edge into the final frame.

"Sometimes you're going to have a first half like that," he said. "That just shows what type of team we have."

"Ron got it going and was huge in that run when we were down by 11," teammate Shane Battier said. "We have a lot of faith in him."

James Posey's drive with 7:01 gave the Hornets a 75-73 lead, but it would be their last. Von Wafer, Battier, Artest scored on layups and Carl Landry's fast break dunk triggered a 14-4 run to put the Rockets in control 87-79 with 2:29 left.

Two free throws by West pulled the Hornets within 87-81, but the Rockets ran off the next eight points to seal the win.

"Once we caught them, we seemed to get our confidence," Adelman said. "We really got positive about the way we were playing."

Elsewhere: Oklahoma City Thunder 78, San Antonio Spurs 76 Kevin Durant scored 25 points, and the Thunder overcame a 19-point deficit to post its fourth straight home victory, when Frenchman Tony Parker missed the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

Parker led San Antonio (44-22) with 28 points, while Tim Duncan finished with 14 and 12 rebounds.

Portland Trail Blazers 103, Memphis Grizzlies 92 LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points with eight rebounds, Brandon Roy added 20 points with nine assists, and the Trail Blazers jumped past New Orleans into the fifth spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

O. J. Mayo scored 21 points, Mike Conley had 20 for Memphis (17-49), losers for the 13th time in 15 games.

Denver Nuggets 121, New Jersey Nets 96 J. R. Smith and Brazilian native Nene scored 19 points apiece, and the Nuggets rocked the short-handed Nets to stay one-half game ahead of Portland atop the Northwest Division.

Vince Carter scored 32 points for the Nets (28-39) who without All-Star guard Devin Harris (right shoulder sprain) dropped to 0-4 on their five-game road trip.

Charlotte Bobcats 112, Toronto Raptors 86 Gerald Wallace scored 25 points, D. J. Augustin had 15 and the Bobcats pulled within one-game of idle Milwaukee and Chicago for eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Chris Bosh had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Toronto (24-4O) losers in eight of its last nine games. (dpa)