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Rockets put win streaks to the test versus Bucks

Jan 25, 2012 - 4:01 PM (Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets have been dominating at home over their current seven-game win streak, but they showed on Monday they can also play well on the road.

Still, home is where the heart is and the Rockets have displayed a lot of that at the Toyota Center this season.

Houston tries to extend its series home winning streak over the Milwaukee Bucks to 12 straight tonight, a victory that could push it into the top spot in the Southwest Division.

The Rockets began the season with a disappointing 3-7 mark, but have ripped off seven straight wins since to get within a half-game of both the Mavericks and Spurs for the top spot in the division. Both Dallas and San Antonio are also in action tonight.

Houston hasn't lost since Jan. 11 in San Antonio and five of their seven consecutive wins have come at home, where it s 7-1 on the year. However, the Rockets picked up a big 107-92 victory in Minnesota on Monday thanks to Kyle Lowry's second career triple-double and 31 points by Kevin Martin.

Lowry finished with 16 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who are on their longest winning streak since an incredible 22-game burst during the 2007-08 season.

"It is always a good team win when there is balance scoring and everyone is contributing to a win like that, especially coming up against a tough-minded team with an All-Star and a great coach. To come up here and get a win it was definitely important away from home," said Lowry.

Samuel Dalembert nabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for a Rockets team that put the game away with a 19-1 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters. That run, and a season-high 31 points in the fourth frame alone, helped Houston cruise to a win after tighter games against New Orleans (90-88 OT) and San Antonio (105-102) last week.

"We're playing well right now, so we want to keep on going," said Kevin McHale, who is in his first season as Rockets head coach.

Houston opens a four-game homestand looking to avoid its first loss as the host to Milwaukee since Nov. 2, 1999. The Rockets have won 11 of the 13 previous encounters with the Bucks overall.

Milwaukee lost its first eight road games of the season before notching wins at New York and Miami on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Bucks, though, were unable to land a third straight win after dropping a 97-92 decision to the visiting Hawks on Monday.

Brandon Jennings had 21 points and 11 assists, while Mike Dunleavy added a season-high 17 points in the loss, Milwaukee's fourth in its past six overall.

Drew Gooden hit a three-pointer for Milwaukee to knot the game at 88 with 1:02 left, but Atlanta responded with a three from Josh Smith to take the lead for good.

"We have a full cast of characters," noted Dunleavy of his club's health. "We have all our guys so we have a lot of options. Generally when you have that many guys someone's going to play well on a given night. We played well on the road, and we were almost good enough tonight, but just came up a little short."

Ersan Ilyasova had his first double-double of the season for the Bucks, totaling 10 points and 11 rebounds.