Andre Miller scored 26 points, Samuel Dalembert added 19 points and blocked a shot in the final seconds, and the Sixers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Rockets 111-107 on Tuesday night.
"We found a way to finish off the game," said Miller, who also has six assists and five rebounds. "After losing that many games, a lot of teams would fold on this road trip. We came out and played good basketball."
Louis Williams scored 18 and Andre Iguodala had 17 for the Sixers, who also snapped a five-game road skid.
"The main thing is to focus on the season and never try to have a really down point," said Iguodala. "But we had it, and it's good for us to bounce back and get a win like we had tonight."
The Rockets led 83-67 in the third quarter and still seemed in control when they led by 89-77 with 10 minutes left in the game. But Houston committed nine turnovers and went five minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter to fuel Philadelphia's comeback.
"It didn't look good," said Dalembert. "But then we came back with a roar."
Rafer Alston's running one-hander put Houston up 101-98 with 3:43 left, but Miller sank two free throws and Dalembert hit one to tie the game. Alston made a bad pass - his sixth turnover - and Dalembert dunked at the other end to put the Sixers ahead 103-101 with 2:24 remaining.
"We stopped doing the things that got us the lead," said Alston. "It was a total let-up."
The Sixers led 107-104 after Dalembert scored with 35.1 seconds left.
Luis Scola rebounded Yao Ming's miss at the other end, but Dalembert blocked Scola's putback try. Iguodala hit two free throws with 16.6 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
Philadelphia outscored Houston 37-22 in the fourth.
"We hung together and played hard and we got something good out of it," said Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks.
While the Sixers were looking at the win as a possible turning point of the season, the Rockets were chastising themselves for letting one slip away.
"We acted like the game was over starting the fourth quarter," said Coach Rick Adelman. "We're not good enough to act like the game is over."
Yao scored 25 points and Alston added 20 for Houston, which dropped to 7-4 since Tracy McGrady went out with a left knee injury. McGrady is expected to play against San Antonio on Saturday.
The Sixers beat Houston for only the third time in the last 12 meetings. They also beat the Rockets 100-88 on Dec. 10, securing their first series sweep since the 1988-89 season.
Both teams shot well in a fast-paced first quarter that ended with Houston up 31-30. Alston and Luther Head combined for 14 points in the quarter, but Dalembert hit 6 of 7 shots and scored 12, one above his per-game average.
Shane Battier and Head sank 3-pointers early in the second quarter as Houston stayed hot and stretched its lead to nine. The Rockets were shooting 67 percent (20-for-30) with five minutes left in the half.
Head scored 16 in the first half, but Iguodala swished a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to cut the Rockets' lead to 60-55.
Houston opened the second half with an 8-0 run, with Battier's layup giving the Rockets a 68-55 lead. The Sixers missed seven of their first 10 shots after the break and Houston stretched the lead to 83-67.
Yao, who took only four shots in the first half, scored 13 points in the third quarter as Houston took an 85-74 lead into the final period. Miller scored 13 of the Sixers' 19 points in the third - the rest of the team missed 13 of 15 shots.
The Sixers repeatedly beat the Rockets down the floor in the fourth quarter, turning their careless turnovers into easy baskets.
"You don't take care of the ball and they beat us to the basket time after time," Adelman said. "It's really disappointing that we shot ourselves in the foot the whole fourth quarter."
Notes:
Philadelphia topped 100 points for only the third time in
18 games. ... Both teams wore throwback uniforms from the
mid-1990s. ... Head had a season-high seven assists. ... The
Rockets went 8-for-26 (31 percent) from 3-point range. ... Houston
outrebounded Philadelphia 40-32.
