Their Monday night game against a dire New Jersey Nets may not have been a fight - Tracy McGrady scored 19 points in less than three quarters and Houston won 91-73.

The victory was their 19th consecutive success and matched the third-longest winning streak in National Basketball Association history.

It is a feat worthy of adulation - Michael Jordan never won 19 in a row. Neither did Larry Bird.

Given that the Rockets are still winning despite losing the best centre in the game, Yao Ming, for the season with an injury, it boggles the mind.

More importantly, the Rockets are just one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs for the top seeding in the NBA's Western Conference.

Houston host the Lakers on Sunday, and then face the Celtics.

Before that, the Rockets can match the second-longest streak in NBA history with a win in Atlanta tonight.

Not long ago, on Jan 27, a loss to the Utah Jazz had left the Rockets at 24-20.

Said point guard Rafer Alston, who has been playing like an All-Star, averaging over 20 points a game in the last week as his team's second option:

'It's fantastic to have your name mentioned and your team mentioned with some of the best teams, some of the best players to ever play the game. It says a lot about our club.'

A pair of rookies in the front court, Luis Scola,a former star in Europe and stalwart of the Argentinian national team, and Carl Landry, have also buoyed the Rockets.

Landry has become one of the most important players on the team, shooting an amazing 64 per cent from the field.

In six games without Yao, McGrady has also averaged almost 26 points a game and is now tied for 14th in the league in scoring.

That is not the most impressive statistic however, as he has also chipped in over six assists and 5.5 rebounds a game.

While the Rockets have won their 10th straight game by double digits, tying an NBA record last set by the Nets in 2004, defence has been the foundation on which their 19-0 record was built.

The Nets shot 30 per cent as the Rockets defended the paint and contested every shot.

Shane Battier chased Vince Carter all over the court, made him work for every inch and held him to a 5-for-15 game. His work against Carter set a tone for everything that happened.

'Defence wins games, and that's what we're great at,' McGrady said. 'Our defence bailed us out.'

There were some other notable feats in the NBA on Monday.

The Celtics reached the big 5 and 0 for the first time in 16 years by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 100-86. They finished the 1991-92 season 51-31.

However, it is not time to get too excited about Houston's streak yet, reported MSNBC.

What McGrady has yet to do is get past the first round of the play-offs - having failed with Toronto, Orlando and Houston in previous seasons.

The streak will be quickly forgotten, if they fail to get out of the first round of a perilous Western Conference.

They could wind up playing anybody from Utah to New Orleans to Dallas, who have all beaten the Rockets.

And, none of them will be as bad as the Nets were on Monday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS