EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Maurice Taylor, left on the court despite picking up three early fouls, made three straight shots to snap Houston out of an early offensive funk in the Rockets’ 80-69 victory Monday night over the New Jersey Nets.

The Rockets missed their first eight shots and fell behind 11-0 before Taylor, whose third foul came just 3:34 into the first quarter, scored Houston’s first six points.

Jim Jackson closed the first quarter with a 3-pointer for 20-17 edge, giving Houston the lead for good, and the Rockets eventually went ahead by as many as 22 to snap a two-game skid and send New Jersey to its third straight loss.

Tracy McGrady returned from a two-game absence due to a strained right hip and scored 14 points, including a jumper in the lane on which he was fouled with 4:30 left to hold off a mild rally by the offensively inept Nets.

Jackson scored a season-high 18 and Taylor added 12. New Jersey shot just 23-for-75.

Cavaliers 99, Warriors 88

CLEVELAND – LeBron James scored 33 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved over .500 for the first time in more than three years with their fourth straight win, 99-88 over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

Jeff McInnis added 20 points, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 16 for the Cavaliers (4-3), who hadn’t had a winning record since Jan. 12, 2001, when they were 17-16. James was still a high school sophomore back then, but now he’s the NBA’s reigning rookie of the year, player of the week and league-leading scorer.

Ilgauskas scored 10 of Cleveland’s 12 points during a decisive fourth-quarter spurt that helped the Cavs open a six-point lead and put the Warriors away. Jason Richardson matched a season high with 27 points for Golden State, which was within 84-81 with 7:50 to play on Derek Fisher’s 3-pointer.

Ilgauskas then hit a layup, James drained a pair of free throws, and Ilgauskas made two more free throws to push Cleveland’s lead to 91-85. Richardson’s jumper got the Warriors within four, but Ilgauskas scored again and Cleveland made its free throws down the stretch to ice it.