Rockets stretch streak to 20

ATLANTA — The Houston Rockets defeated the Atlanta Hawks 83-75 on Wednesday to become the third NBA team to record 20 consecutive victories.

The other teams to win at least 20 games in a row were the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won a record 33 consecutive games, and the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks, who also registered 20 successive wins. Both of those teams went on to win NBA championships.

Houston (44-20) will take sole possession of second place on the all-time consecutive wins list with a home win over Charlotte on Friday (Saturday in Manila).

The Rockets struggled offensively for most of Wednesday’s game and trailed the Hawks (26-38) by a point at the half.

But Tracy McGrady stepped up in the second half, scoring 21 of his 28 points after the break.

"The game wasn’t pretty," said Rockets coach Rick Adelman. "But it might have been the best. We shot 33 percent and still won.

"Early, we missed shot after shot after shot. We couldn’t hit anything. But our defense kept us in there. We held them down and stayed within striking distance."

The Rockets held a 71-70 lead with five minutes remaining before scoring 10 unanswered points to take control.

Shane Battier added 15 points and Chuck Hayes contributed eight points and had 12 rebounds for the Rockets.

"Our defense was outstanding," Battier said. "We made them work for everything. It’s been a trademark for us."

Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 28 points and Josh Smith scored 16 points and added a career-high 22 rebounds.

The Boston Celtics won their 10th game in a row with a 111-82 win over the Seattle SuperSonics.

The New Orleans Hornets moved to within a half-game of the lead in the Southwest Division with a convincing 100-75 win over the San Antonio Spurs.