Rockets Win and the Celtics" Skid Reaches Nine Dwight Howard had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets beat Boston, 104-92, on Monday night to send the host Celtics to their ninth consecutive defeat. Jeremy Lin added 16 points and 9 assists for Houston, and Chandler Parsons added 14 points after missing three games with a knee injury. Parsons is having a breakout season, averaging 17.5 points (on 51.7 percent shooting) and 5.4 rebounds. Avery Bradley had 24 points for the Celtics, on their longest losing streak since dropping a franchise-record 18 straight games in 2007. Jerryd Bayless scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and Brandon Bass finished with 14 for Boston, which rallied but got no closer than 7 points. SPURS 101, PELICANS 95 Tony Parker capped a 27-point outing with several clutch layups in the final minutes, and visiting San Antonio won their fifth straight game over reeling New Orleans. Tim Duncan scored 18 points before fouling out with 6 minutes 2 seconds to go in what turned out to be a surprisingly tense contest between the Spurs, who lead the Western Conference, and a hobbled Pelicans squad that has now lost six straight since an injury to Ryan Anderson, the team's leading scorer. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans. MAVERICKS 107, MAGIC 88 Monta Ellis scored 21 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 15 and Dallas beat visiting Orlando, extending the Magic's longest losing streak of the season to eight games. The Mavericks won their third straight against sub-. 500 teams since a big loss at San Antonio. Dallas now begins a three-game stretch against Western Conference playoff contenders starting Wednesday at the Los Angeles Clippers. Jameer Nelson scored 21 for the Magic WIZARDS 102, BULLS 88 John Wall and Nene had 19 points apiece, Trevor Ariza scored 16 and Washington beat host Chicago. Carlos Boozer scored 19 for Chicago and Joakim Noah grabbed 16 rebounds, but with a chance to reach .500 for the first time since November, the Bulls came up short. They also lost for the first time since trading Luol Deng to Cleveland last week, after winning three without him. RAPTORS 116, BUCKS 94 Kyle Lowry scored 23 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and host Toronto beat Milwaukee to hand the struggling Bucks their sixth straight loss. Ersan Ilyasova scored a season-high 27 points for the Bucks. The league's worst team at 7-30, Milwaukee has lost 14 of 16 overall.