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McGrady scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half and the Rockets won their 20th consecutive game - tying the second longest run in league history - with a gutsy 83-75 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

 The Rockets matched the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks and the 1971-72 LA Lakers -  with the all-time record of 33 straight victories  - as the only teams to win 20 straight contests.

 "It's unbelievable, 20 in a row, especially on this level," McGrady said. "I can't even explain it. But 20 games to come out with victories, it's unbelievable."

   Houston coach Rick Adelman characterized the milestone victory. "It was the ugliest game we won, but it might have been the best one the way we fought through it," he said. "You shoot 33 per cent (30-of-90) and you're on the road. But our guys stayed with it and Tracy came up so big in the second half, he just took it over."

   Shane Battier had 15 points for the Rockets (44-20) whose franchise-record 12th straight road victory moved them one-game behind the idle Lakers atop the Western Conference standings.

 "We have an amazing group of guys and we believe in each other," Battier said. "And when you have belief, work hard and prepare, great things happen. We just want to keep this thing going, it's exciting."

   Nearly as impressive as the streak are the Rockets improving to 8-0 since losing Chinese All-Star centre Yao Ming to season-ending stress fracture surgery in his left foot.

 "The guys stepping up the way they have is a tribute to him, but we can't worry about it anymore," Adelman explained. "We have to try to figure out how to win games."

    After shooting a frigid 28 per cent and trailing 33-32 at halftime, McGrady scored 11 third-quarter points, giving the Rockets a 59-57 advantage entering the final frame.

 Ahead by one with five minutes remaining, McGrady capped a decisive 10-0 run by hitting a jumper, one-of-two free throws and a three-pointer, opening up an 81-70 cushion with 1:52 remaining.

 Mike Bibby's three-pointer drew the Hawks within 81-73, but McGrady made both free throws with 35 ticks to go. When Marvin Williams made a lay-up, it snapped a Rockets' 10-game run of beating opponents by double digits.

 Joe Johnson scored 28 points while Josh Smith had 16 with a career-high 22 rebounds for the Hawks (26-38) who were held to 33.8 per cent field goal shooting (27-of-80) en route to their 14th loss in the last 18 games.

 Elsewhere    Boston Celtics 111, Seattle SuperSonics 82    Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen scored 18 points apiece, carrying the league-best Celtics (51-12) to their 10th straight victory.

 New Jersey Nets 104, Cleveland Cavaliers 99    Richard Jefferson scored 24 points, Bostjan Nachbar had 21 and host Nets withstood 42 points by LeBron James to snap a six-game slide.

 Philadelphia 76ers 83, Detroit Pistons 82    Andre Iguodala scored 22 points and the Sixers escaped with their fifth win in the last six games when Chauncey Billups missed a potential game-winning jumper at the buzzer.

 New Orleans Hornets 100, San Antonio Spurs 75    David West had 29 points with 10 rebounds, Chris Paul added 26 points with 17 assists and the host Hornets sent the defending NBA champion Spurs to their third loss in the last four games.

 Frenchman Tony Parker and Tim Duncan led San Antonio (44-20) with 24 points apiece.

 Utah Jazz 114, Milwaukee Bucks 110    Deron Williams had 26 points and 13 assists, Carlos Boozer had 20 points, 11 rebounds and the go-ahead layup with 47 seconds left, rallying the visiting Jazz to its sixth victory in the last seven games.

 Charlie Villanueva and Michael Redd scored 26 points apiece for the Bucks (23-42) who led by 10 in the fourth quarter.

 Dallas Mavericks 118, Charlotte Bobcats 93    Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points, Josh Howard had 24 and the host Mavericks broke the Bobcats' franchise-record five-game winning streak by running their all-time record to 8-0 in the series.

 Denver Nuggets 108, Memphis Grizzlies 86    Kenyon Martin scored 23 points as the Nuggets sent the Grizzlies to their 16th consecutive road loss and 17th in the last 19 overall.

 Golden State Warrior 117, Toronto Raptors 106    Monta Ellis scored 33 points while Baron Davis had 23 with 15 assists, leading the host Warriors to their seventh win in the last eight games.

 Orlando Magic 110, LA Clippers 88    Dwight Howard had 22 points with 13 rebounds and the Magic sent the visiting Clippers to their ninth loss in the last 11 games.

 New York Knicks 91, Miami Heat 88    Jamal Crawford scored 23 points, Zach Randolph had 19 with 12 rebounds and the visiting Knicks stopped a seven-game skid.

 Ricky Davis tallied 27 points, Shawn Marion had 15 and 17 rebounds for the league-worst Heat (11-52) losers in 33 of its last 36 games.

By Paul Levine, dpa