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Rockets shoot for 21st consecutive win

Mar 14, 2008 - 1:48 PM Charlotte (24-40) at Houston (44-20) 8:30 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) - The Houston Rockets will go for their 21st consecutive victory on Friday against the Charlotte Bobcats.

A victory would give the Rockets the second-longest streak in NBA history, trailing only the 33-game run by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

"It's unbelievable," Houston's Tracy McGrady said. "For me to be on this team that has accomplished 20 straight wins, that has got to be right up there with the most gratifying things I've accomplished in this league. ... You look at the Bulls that were 72-10, they didn't even do it. So this is pretty remarkable."

Houston, 7-0 since losing Yao Ming to a season-ending foot injury, is tied atop the Southwest Division with defending NBA champion San Antonio and trails the Western Conference-leading Lakers by one game.

The Rockets have won four straight over Charlotte, which had a franchise-record five-game winning streak snapped Wednesday in a 118-93 loss at Dallas.

The game marked the return of small forward Gerald Wallace, who missed eight games due to a concussion. Wallace had 14 points in 22 minutes coming off the bench.

Still in the playoff mix, Charlotte is 2 1/2 games behind eighth-place New Jersey in the East.