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 aid 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 in
Atlanta on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
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.
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.
LeBron James’s 24 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds sparked
the Cleveland Cavaliers to an 88-80 home win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Hedo Turkoglu had 23 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in
the Orlando Magic’s 123-112 home victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Dallas Mavericks got 18 points each from Dirk Nowitzki
and Jason Terry in a 108-79 rout of the New York Knicks.
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.
Meanwhile, four-time All-Star guard Dwyane Wade will miss
the rest of the NBA season because of a recurring knee injury, the Miami Heat
said on Monday.
The 26-year-old is to undergo shockwave therapy, a
non-surgical procedure, on his left knee later this week.
He will then be limited to passive exercise for a month
before slowly returning to basketball-related activities, the Heat said in a
statement.
Wade, one of the NBA’s top guards, has appeared in 51 games for Miami this
season, averaging a team-leading 24.5 points, 6.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
