Houston 93, Boston 77

Kevin Martin scored 25 points and Kyle Lowry had 20 points and nine assists as the Houston Rockets routed the visiting Boston Celtics 93-77 on Friday.

Martin scored 13 points over the final 4:30 of the first half to help Houston (36-34) pull away to a 22-point halftime lead en route to its third straight victory.

Jeff Green scored 17 points and Glen Davis scored 16 points for Boston (48-19), which fell a half game behind Chicago (49-19) for best record in the Eastern Conference.

Houston led by six before outscoring the Celtics 34-18 in the second quarter. Boston trailed 42-33 with five minutes to go in the quarter, but Martin fueled a quarter-ending 20-7 surge by scoring 13 of Houston’s points. 

Patrick Patterson had 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots and Chuck Hayes added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets.

Houston didn't trail after Lowry’s basket with 57 seconds left in the opening quarter gave the Rockets a 22-21 lead.

Boston’s “Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined for just 29 points. Garnett had 11 points, Pierce 10 points on 2-of-10 shooting and Allen had eight.

• Houston will play their next game at home against Utah. The Rockets have a W/L % of .543 after a win and .486 after a loss.
• Boston will play their next game on the road against New Orleans . The Celtics have a W/L % of .714 after a win and .722 after a loss.