The Rockets fell into hugs. Exhausted. Relieved. Triumphant again.
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It was “ugly,” they said later, but they loved it for its flaws, as if they stared into the brink of the streak’s end, almost daring that fate to finally catch them, and then denied inevitability again to take their place with only two other teams in NBA history.
The Rockets struggled as they rarely have in the past six weeks, but with a night full of defense and a late run, they pushed their winning streak to 20 consecutive games Wednesday with an 83-75 triumph over the Atlanta Hawks.
They tied the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks for the second-longest streak in NBA history, a stretch of uninterrupted victories bettered only by the 33-game run of the Los Angeles Lakers the year after the Bucks’ run.
“It’s unbelievable, 20 in a row, especially on this level,” Tracy McGrady said after scoring 28 points to lead the Rockets, propping up their misfiring offense in the second half. “I can’t even explain it. You got to factor in back-to-backs. You’re not shooting the ball particularly well some nights. Offense is not going to be there. Just so many things you can factor in. But 20 games to come out with victories, it’s unbelievable.”
By virtue of a tiebreaker over the Spurs, Houston is now No. 2 in the West, a game behind the Lakers
The Rockets’ streak of 10 consecutive games winning by at least 10 points, a run that tied the NBA record, ended when Atlanta’s Marvin Williams put in an otherwise meaningless and uncontested dunk with 5.3 seconds left. But that seemed appropriate, with the Rockets winning a game that was anything but the sort of rout they had been collecting with near unprecedented regularity.
Instead, they had their worst shooting game of the season, making just 30 of 90 shots. They had their worst shooting half, making 27.9 percent in the first half, and fewest points in a half (32) this season. They trailed by as much as 10. And still could not be beaten.
“Tonight was all perseverance,” forward Shane Battier said.
McGrady, who had made 1 of 7 first-half shots on Monday, made 2 of 10 in the first half against the Hawks. Rafer Alston was 0 for 8 in the first half. With Carl Landry still out with a swollen right knee, Luis Scola picked up two quick fouls and played just five first-half minutes.
“Early especially, we missed shot after shot after shot. We couldn’t make anything,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “Our defense kept us in there. We never allowed them to get too far ahead and kept us in striking distance.”