Celtics snap Rockets' win streak

HOUSTON: Regular-season win leader Boston snapped the second-longest win streak in NBA history at 22 games here Tuesday with a 94-74 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Kevin Garnett led Boston with 22 points while Paul Pierce added 20 as the Celtics improved their league-best record to 54-13 and dropped the Rockets to 46-21, level with the Los Angeles Lakers atop the Western Conference.

"We had a great run but that's done now," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "When you have a loss like this you learn from it. That's what you have to do, learn what teams are going to do to cause us problems. We got a lot of lessons tonight."

The Rockets' run fell short of the all-time NBA win streak of 33 established in 1972 by the Los Angeles Lakers. Houston had not lost since falling 97-89 to Utah at home on January 27.

"It was a great run. We played great basketball," Houston's Shane Battier said. "We still have a heck of a lot to play for. We play again in 20 hours. This loss will be forgotten pretty quickly. That's the way this team rolls."

Houston won the last 10 in a row in the streak without Chinese All-Star center Yao Ming, lost with a season-ending foot injury.

By winning a possible preview of the NBA Finals, the Celtics improved to 22-4 against Western Conference clubs with their 13th triumph in 14 games and their seventh in a row on the road, ending a 15-game Houston home win streak.

"The Rockets are playing some unbelievable basketball. A streak of 22 in a row is hard to do in any sport," Garnett said. "But we have been on a little streak of our own. It's good to have a little consistency of our own."

The Celtics, who also beat the Rockets 97-93 in Boston on January 2, showed why they have the best defensive statistics in the NBA, containing Houston star Tracy McGrady to only eight points on 4-of-11 shooting.

"That's a good defensive team. They are quick and they are athletic," said Adelman.

One night after beating the reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, Boston opened the third quarter with a 20-7 run for a 60-47 lead with Garnett and Pierce sparking the spurt.

"Huge win for us," said Garnett, who summed up the reason behind the victory with one word - "defense".

Boston, a league-best 25-8 on the road, pushed the margin to 72-56 after three quarters and to 81-58 five minutes into the final quarter.

Garnett grabbed 11 rebounds while Leon Powe came off the bench to score 18 points for the Celtics. Argentina's Luis Scola led Houston with 15 points.

The Celtics, who have already clinched the Atlantic division title, were without Ray Allen, who missed his third game in a row with an injured left ankle. The 12-year veteran is averaging 18.3 points a game.

The Rockets rose from 10th in the Western Conference to first thanks to the win streak, but will play eight of their next 10 games on the road starting Wednesday at New Orleans, Friday at Golden State and Saturday at Phoenix.

"We have to respond," Adelman said. "You have to be resilient. We have three tough road games right away. Three games in four nights. You find out what you're made of."

"We gave up too many points in the paint," Houston's Rafer Alston said. "We turned the ball over so many times in the second quarter, that enabled them to get back in the game. We started standing around a little bit."

Emotions were high as Boston's Rajon Rondo and Alston traded shoves before the first in-bounds pass to start the game and Scola committed a flagrant foul, slamming Boston's Tony Allen to the court in the third quarter.

"We're a team that plays hard every single night," Battier said. "We play with our heart."

In Dallas, Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and Lamar Odom added 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past Dallas 102-100 .

The Lakers squandered most of a 25-point lead but snapped a two-game losing streak and finished the night 46-21, level with Houston atop the Western Conference, while the Mavericks slid to 44-24, seventh in the West.

The Mavericks, who had a five-game win streak snapped, fell to 0-6 against teams with winning records since obtaining guard Jason Kidd from New Jersey.

AFP

(China Daily 03/20/2008 page22)