ATLANTA – The Houston Rockets became the third team in NBA history to win 20 consecutive games, tying for the league’s second-longest winning streak with an 83-75 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

The Rockets joined the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33 straight) and 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20) as the only teams to win 20 or more in a row.

Tracy McGrady scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half and Shane Battier had 15 points as Houston struggled to preserve their winning streak. They were held to their lowest first-half total during the span and trailed 33-32 at halftime. A basket by Atlanta’s Marvin Williams with 5 seconds left in the game ended the Rockets’ streak of 10 straight wins by 10 or more points.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 28 points, and Josh Smith had 16 points and a career-high 22 rebounds.

Nets 104, Cavaliers 99

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Richard Jefferson scored 24 points, and the New Jersey Nets overcame LeBron James’ 42 points to hold off the Cleveland Cavaliers and snap a six-game losing streak.

Bostjan Nachbar added 21 points and Devin Harris had 19, including three buckets in the last four-plus minutes after Cleveland had cut a 19-point lead to one.

James moved into second place on Cleveland’s career scoring list, and added 11 rebounds and seven assists. But the short-handed Cavaliers got little else from their starting lineup and had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Magic 110, Clippers 88

ORLANDO, Fla. – Dwight Howard had his league-leading 57th double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Orlando Magic, who had all five starters in double figures by the end of the third quarter and improved to 24-0 this season when holding teams under 95 points.

Corey Maggette led Los Angeles with 22 points, but scored only two in the second half. Cuttino Mobley and Al Thornton had 17 each for the Clippers, who have lost nine of their last 11 games.

Knicks 91, Heat 88

MIAMI – Jamal Crawford scored 23 points, and the New York Knicks wasted most of a 14-point fourth-quarter lead before beating the Miami Heat and snapping a seven-game losing streak.

The Heat lost for the 33rd time in 36 games and extended the NBA’s worst record to 11-52. Ricky Davis led Miami with 27 points, Shawn Marion added 15 points and 17 rebounds and the Heat raced out to a 14-2 lead, but that slipped away by the time the first quarter was over.

76ers 83, Pistons 82

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Andre Iguodala scored 22 points and the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t score in the final 2:27, but won when Chauncey Billups’ jumper over Rodney Carney bounced off the rim as time expired.

Carney scored 16 points for Philadelphia, and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 15 rebounds.

Rasheed Wallace had 17 points for Detroit, while Antonio McDyess added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Hornets 100, Spurs 75

NEW ORLEANS – Chris Paul had 26 points and 17 assists to help the New Orleans Hornets take a convincing victory over the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs.

David West, returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him for three games, had 29 points and 10 rebounds as New Orleans pulled within a half-game of the division lead behind the Spurs and Houston Rockets.

Tim Duncan had 24 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which shot 43 percent, going only 2-of-18 from 3-point range and a dreadful 7-of-17 on free throws.