Games like these are why T-Mac is something special By RICHARD JUSTICE PILING UP THE W's: With their franchise record 18th consecutive victory, the Rockets are in the company of the longest winning streaks in NBA history. The only single-season streaks of 17 or more wins: 33 straight 1971-72 L.A. Lakers 20 straight • 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks 19 straight • 1999-2000 L.A. Lakers 18 straight • 1969-70 N.Y. Knicks • 1981-82 Boston Celtics • 1995-96 Chicago Bulls • 2007-08 Houston Rockets 17 straight • 1946-47 Washington Capitols • 1959-60 Boston Celtics • 1995-96 San Antonio Spurs • 2006-07 Phoenix Suns • 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks He did what only the great ones can do. He took over the game. He made it his. He did things that take your breath away, and he made them look easy. Tracy McGrady isn't the only reason the Rockets had another magical night. He's just the biggest. If this wasn't a perfect game, it was close. McGrady was on the floor for all 48 minutes, scored 41 points, handed out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds. Years from now when someone asks you why McGrady was special, tell him to watch this game. Whenever New Orleans seemed about to get back in it, McGrady delivered. "We also had Tracy McGrady, and it didn't matter what they did," Rafer Alston said. When it was over, when the Rockets had beaten the Hornets 106-96 to become just the seventh NBA team to win 18 games in a row, they acted like a bunch of high school kids. That's the perfect analogy for our little basketball team. They've constructed one of the great runs in NBA history by doing the things high school coaches teach. Another all-out effort They dive for loose balls, take care of the boards, play unselfishly and go at it relentlessly on the defensive end. Maybe that's why Toyota Center feels different these days. After all these years of quiet crowds and empty seats, turns out they were just waiting for the right kind of team to get excited about. These Rockets are a team in every sense of the word. They trust one another, count on one another, do the little things. "We're playing with tons of energy," Alston said. Alston was pretty good himself, scoring 20 points. And there was Shane Battier. He was on the floor for 40 minutes, half of them spent chasing Peja Stojakovich from one side of the floor to other. To watch Battier is to appreciate Battier. And when the Hornets got within six in the third quarter, there was Battier fighting off two players to grab his own missed shot and flip the ball to Dikembe Mutombo for a dunk. This day began with the Rockets learning they'd lost another player. Rookie Carl Landry, who has played brilliantly at times, will miss at least two games with a bruised knee. Rick Adelman once more shuffled his rotation and once more found a combination that worked. Steve Novak, buried at the end of the bench most of the year, scored eight points during a nine-minute stretch of the first half. Everyone is contributing Since the beginning of January, the Rockets have been the NBA's best team. They've played without their stars at times, but with contributions from up and down the bench and an amazing resolve, the Rockets roll on. "Right now, we're getting everyone's 'A' game," McGrady said. They've won because the whole is greater than the sum of their parts. Sometimes, though, it comes down to big players playing big. That's what McGrady did Saturday night. He was the focus of everything, and he accepted the challenge. The Hornets got 37 points from their superstar, Chris Paul, on a night when two of the Western Conference's best teams put on a great show. The Rockets opened up a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter, and when the Hornets twice cut it to eight, they went right to McGrady for baskets. There seems to be no sense of history inside the home locker room. There's simply a growing confidence in what they're capable of doing. They're now the third-seeded team in the Western Conference, two games behind the No. 1 Lakers. Guard against letdowns "Now the real mental challenge is that there are no letdowns as we continue on," Adelman said. The people who run the Rockets deserve this. They've attempted to do everything right. Les Alexander hires good people and gives them the freedom to do their job. When Yao got hurt, it looked as if the franchise might be curse. Instead, the fun has continued http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5604575.html
Richard Justice... Trying to get me riled up or in tears. Its one extreme or the other. He is the Creed of newspaper writing. He only tries to produce singles. Richard Justice, I don't like you.
Goodness gracious, I had half a heart attack when I read "We lost another player, Carl Landry"... then I read "for two games" and was so relieved
