 Rockets roar to 17th consecutive victory
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-07 15:53
Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady (C) goes up for the shot as he is defended by Dallas Mavericks forward Malik Allen (L) and center Erick Dampier in the first half of their NBA basketball game in Dallas, Texas March 6, 2008. [Agencies] |
Tracy McGrady scored 31 points and the Houston Rockets roared to their 17th consecutive win in a 113-98 road victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. The Rockets, in stretching their franchise-record run, tied the seventh-longest streak in NBA history.
Rafer Alston added a season-best 24 points for Houston, continuing to play well without injured Chinese center Yao Ming. McGrady said the streak was not surprising.
"No, not at all," he told reporters. "When you've got a roster full of guys that really believe in themselves, great chemistry amongst the team, and we go out and play extremely hard every night -- I'm not surprised."
A 30-13 third-quarter run enabled Houston to take control after Dallas' Jason Kidd had tied it at 55-55 with 10:13 to play in the period. Josh Howard had 21 points and Jason Terry 17 in the Mavericks' third consecutive loss.
The home team were playing without Dirk Nowitzki, who was suspended for one game for a hard foul on the Utah Jazz's Andrei Kirilenko.
"We knew they were missing Dirk, but we knew we were missing Yao, and you have to go out and play the game," Rockets coach Rick Adelman told reporters.
"As a coach it's just fun to watch a group of guys come together like they have and maintain this over such a period of time."
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