Rockets reach milestone with 19th in a row

HOUSTON: The Houston Rockets matched the NBA's third-longest winning streak when they recorded their 19th consecutive triumph with a 91-73 rout of the New Jersey Nets on Monday.

Tracy McGrady sparked the milestone victory with 19 points.

Only the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks have longer streaks, the Lakers winning 33 consecutive games during the 1971-72 season while the Bucks put together 20 successive victories in 1971.

The Lakers also had a 19-game winning streak eight years ago.

"It's fantastic to have your team mentioned with some of the best teams and some of the best players to have ever played the game," Houston's Rafer Alston told reporters after scoring 12 points.

McGrady said the Rockets defense has played a big role in the streak and was key in Monday's victory.

"Defense wins ball games and that's what we're great at," McGrady said. "We didn't shoot the ball particularly well tonight and our defense bailed us out."

The Nets scored only 28 points in the first half, shooting an ice-cold 20.9 percent, enabling the Rockets to enjoy an 18-point intermission lead that was never threatened in the second half.

Houston will attempt to record a 20th consecutive victory at Atlanta on Wednesday.

In Philadelphia, the Boston Celtics gained their 50th win of the season, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 100-86 behind Kevin Garnett's 26 points and 12 rebounds.

In San Antonio, Tim Duncan's 23 points and 18 rebounds helped the San Antonio Spurs end a two-game losing run with a 107-103 home win over the Denver Nuggets.

The victory moved San Antonio into a share of the Western Conference lead with the idle Los Angeles Lakers.

In Auburn Hills, Michigan, LeBron James' 24 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds sparked the Cleveland Cavaliers to an 88-80 home win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

In Orlando, Hedo Turkoglu had 23 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in the Orlando Magic's 123-112 home victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

In Dallas, the Dallas Mavericks used 18 points each from Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry to rout the New York Knicks 108-79.

In Miami, Cuttino Mobley's two free throws with two seconds left lifted the Los Angeles Clippers to a 99-98 road win over the Miami Heat, who earlier in the day lost standout Dwyane Wade for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/12/2008 page22)