BOSTON (AP) – Cuttino Mobley scored 24 points, and Yao Ming added 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets past the Boston Celtics 95-80 Wednesday night.

The Rockets won their third straight road game and eclipsed 90 points for the fourth game in a row, their longest such streak this season. All four games have come following an 85-66 loss to Detroit on Jan. 7 in which Houston tied a franchise low for points.

The Rockets, who entered ranked first in the NBA in opponents field-goal percentage, held Paul Pierce to a season-low four points on 1-of-10 shooting.

Mike James led the Celtics with 20 points, and Mark Blount added 14.

Ahead 47-42 at halftime, Houston opened up a 16-point lead late in the third quarter with a 14-4 run. Jimmy Jackson pushed the Rockets’ lead to 57-45 with a 3-pointer, and Scott Padgett made it 64-48 with a 3-pointer with 5:41 left in the third.

Boston got as close as 82-68 with 5:21 left, but Mobley hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Rockets an 88-70 lead.

Yao scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field in the first half as Houston built a 42-30 lead midway through the second quarter. Ahead 34-27, the Rockets pushed their lead to 12 with 5:34 left in the first half thanks to eight straight points from Yao, who scored on two layups, a dunk and a putback.

Notes: Before Wednesday night, Yao had averaged just 8.3 points in three career games against Boston. … Rockets forward Kelvin Cato was scratched from the starting lineup and did not play because of a sprained left foot. … Houston improved to 14-1 when shooting above 45 percent from the field. … Celtics forward Vin Baker suited up but did not play for the second straight game following his return from a three-game suspension. … Pierce, last week’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week, is the only player in the NBA to lead his team in points, rebounds and assists.

AP-ES-01-14-04 2136EST