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Playing all 48 minutes, McGrady scored 30 points and the red-hot Rockets rallied in the second half for their 21st consecutive victory - the second longest streak in league history - with an 89-80 home- court victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.

 "This is unbelievable," McGrady said. "They came out to play and really tested our will tonight, but I wasn't going to be denied. We made history tonight."

   The Rockets broke a tie with the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks and moved behind the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who own the all-time mark with 33 consecutive victories.

 "It's an unbelievable accomplishment because in 36 years this hasn't happened," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "There have been some remarkable teams in this league and for our team to come out and accomplish this thing you have to give them tremendous credit. They're really proud of it."

   The Rockets (45-20) meteoric rise has taken them from 10th in the standings into a tie with the Lakers atop the Western Conference, setting up a heavyweight battle on Sunday.

 "Everybody doubted us, but we had faith and we believed in ourselves," McGrady said. "We came out fighting hard every night and now we're in first place."

   Rafer Alston had 17 points, Argentine rookie Luis Scola added 13 while Shane Battier and Mike Harris chipped in with 12 apiece in the Rockets' 14th consecutive home win.

 Jason Richardson scored 28 points, Emeka Okafor had 23 for the Bobcats (24-41) who had won six of their previous seven games.

 "We were determined to come in here and try and end the streak," Richardson said. "But they picked up in the second half, they took us seriously and then Tracy took over the game."

   Richardson scored 18 points and the Bobcats went on a 23-1 run, bridging the first and second quarters to go up by 13 before taking a 43-36 halftime lead against the cold-shooting Rockets, who hit just 34 per cent from the floor.

 "I told them, 'All you have to do is what you've been doing the whole streak: Trust each other and lay it on the in the next 24 minutes,'" Adelman said.

 The Rockets outscored the Bobcats 28-19 in the third quarter to go ahead 64-62 behind nine points from Scola while McGrady had eight.

 Houston opened the final frame on a 13-2 run to open up 77-64 cushion. However a 7-0 burst drew the Bobcats to within six with six minutes left. But McGrady scored five straight points and Harris converted a three-point play, making it 85-71 with 4:11 left.

 The Bobcats closed to 86-80 with just over a minute to play. But Harris hit a free throw and Alston made both of his to seal the Rockets' milestone victory.

 Elsewhere:    New Orleans Hornets 108, LA Lakers 98    Chris Paul collected 27 points with 17 assists while Tyson Chandler had 14 points with 20 rebounds and the Hornets buzzed past the visiting Lakers.

 Kobe Bryant had 36 points and nine assists for Los Angeles (45- 20), who lost Spanish centre Pau Gasol to a left ankle sprain in the opening minutes of the game.

 Utah Jazz 110, Boston Celtics 92    Deron Williams had 32 points and eight assists, Carlos Boozer collected 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the visiting Jazz stopped the Celtics' 10-game winning streak.

 Kevin Garnett had 15 points for the league-best Boston (51-12) which played the final three quarters without All-Star guard Ray Allen (jammed left ankle).

 Detroit Pistons 84, San Antonio Spurs 80    Richard Hamilton scored 25 points, including a three-point play with 20.6 seconds left, and the Pistons sent the defending NBA Champion Spurs to their fourth loss in the last five games.

 Tony Parker scored 26 points while Tim Duncan added 20 points for the Spurs (44-21) who were without Bruce Bowen (suspension) and Ime Udoka (right ankle).

 Dallas Mavericks 116, Indiana Pacers 97  Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points, Josh Howard added 18, leading the Mavericks to their fourth straight victory.

 Denver Nuggets 137, Toronto Raptors 105    Allen Iverson scored 28 points, Carmelo Anthony added 22 and the Nuggets led 44-23 after the opening quarter en route their fifth straight home win.

 Orlando Magic 103, Miami Heat 94    Jameer Nelson scored 21 points, Dwight Howard had 18 points with 16 rebounds, and the Magic handed the Heat its 34th loss in the last 37 games desite a season-high 34 points by Jason Williams.

 Philadelphia 76ers 110, Chicago Bulls 106    Andre Iguodala scored 25 points while Rodney Carney had 12 of his 18 points in the final quarter, helping the 76ers to overcome an 18- point deficit.

 Atlanta Hawks 117, LA Clippers 93    Joe Johnson scored 21 of his 28 points in the third-quarter, and Josh Smith had 25, carrying the Hawks into a tie with idle New Jersey for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

 Minnesota Timberwolves 121, Seattle SuperSonics 116    Ryan Gomes had 23 points to lead seven players in double figures and grabbed 15 rebounds as the visiting Timberwolves sent the SuperSonics to their seventh straight loss.

By Paul Levine, dpa