Rockets tie club mark with 15th straight win

HOUSTON -- After their 15th straight victory, the Houston Rockets finally moved up in the Western Conference standings.

Tracy McGrady scored 22 points, Shane Battier added 20 and the Rockets tied a franchise record with a 103-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.

The winning streak is the longest in the NBA this season and matches the longest one in franchise history, reached twice, with the last coming in their championship season of 1993-94. It was Houston’s third straight win since losing All-Star center Yao Ming for the season because of a stress fracture in his foot and its 19th win in the last 20 games.

Despite not losing since Jan. 27, the Rockets had been stuck in seventh place in the West. After Sunday’s victory and a loss by Dallas, Houston moved into fifth.

“We know how good we are and we’re showing it,” McGrady said. “We’re a focused group, a group that understands how to win ballgames.”

Houston trailed by seven in the first quarter, before taking the lead with about a minute left in the quarter on a dunk by McGrady after a turnover by Allen Iverson. The Rockets didn’t trail after that and led by double digits for most of the game.

“We didn’t play well,” Iverson said. “I struggled all night and if I struggle the way I did, it’s going to be tough for us to win games.”

Iverson made seven of 22 shots and finished with 17 points after scoring 38 on Friday. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 19 points.