The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - Yao Ming had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets capitalized on an injury to Keith Van Horn and a poor game by Allen Iverson to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 88-79 Friday night.

Iverson missed 19 of his 23 shots, including his final 16, and finished with just eight points - all in the first quarter. He wasn't fouled and missed his only free throw.

The Sixers lost Van Horn to a sprained left foot in the second quarter. X-rays were negative, but Van Horn was to have an MRI and didn't return.

James Posey added 19 points and 12 rebounds as the Rockets moved within one game of Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Kenny Thomas had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Eric Snow added 17 points for the Sixers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 20-6 since the All-Star break. The Sixers began the night just a half-game behind first-place New Jersey in the Atlantic Division.

Spurs 124, Raptors 98

TORONTO - Lenny Wilkens set the NBA record for most career coaching losses, dropping his 1,107th game as Malik Rose scored 23 points to lead San Antonio.

Wilkens, already the winningest coach in league history with 1,292 victories, surpassed Bill Fitch's record with one of the Raptors' most lopsided losses of the season.

Stephen Jackson added 22 points for the Spurs, who shot 77.1 percent in the first half. San Antonio has won eight straight overall and 16 of 17 on the road.

The Spurs, a half-game behind Dallas for the best record in the NBA, made 15 straight shots in the second quarter and finished the period 16-of-18.

HAWKS: Atlanta guard DerMarr Johnson was cleared to resume practicing Friday, nearly seven months after an automobile accident left him with four cracked vertebrae in his neck.

The team said Johnson probably will not play this season.

The Hawks, headed toward their fourth straight losing record, have only seven games left in the regular season.

The 22-year-old Johnson had been expected to miss the entire season after the accident in Atlanta on Sept. 13. The third-year player started 46 games last season, averaging 8.4 points.

CAVALIERS: There's very little the Cleveland Cavaliers can do about their awful record, the NBA's worst. Now they're trying to stop from losing something more precious than games: fans.

Cavs players made phone calls this week to some season-ticket holders, thanking them for their loyalty and asking for patience while the club rebuilds.

"At first, I thought it was kind of sad that they had to have players calling," said Mike Mural, a construction contractor from Rocky River who had a 10-minute chat with rookie forward Carlos Boozer. "But it was great. I was really impressed."

Home attendance has plummeted for the Cavs, who play in front of as many empty bright blue seats as full ones in 20,562-seat Gund Arena most nights.

Cleveland is drawing a league-low 10,970 fans - a drop of 4,204 from a year ago and down nearly 8,000 from 1994.

The club wouldn't disclose its season-ticket base, but it's also down substantially.

"It has dropped for the past few years," said Ed Markey, the club's vice president of communications.

The Cavs never have made the NBA Finals since joining the league in 1970-71, and they last qualified for the playoffs in 1998. At 14-60 through Thursday, they've lost at least 50 games in each of the past four seasons and could lose 65 this year.