Strong 4th quarter propel Rockets past Mavs

On Tuesday night, Dwight Howard and Josh Smith proved an unstoppable combination in a key run that helped Houston to a 111-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference playoff series.

The Mavericks scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to take a three-point lead. But with James Harden on the bench, Houston scored the next 11 points, powered by three alley-oop passes from Smith to Howard, who had 28 points, to take a 92-84 lead with about eight minutes left.

Monta Ellis had 24 points for Dallas, but big men Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler combined for just 21 points.