Zgoda's NBA short takes

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: March 22, 2008 - 8:56 PM

Houston followed its 22-game winning streak -- second longest in NBA history -- with consecutive losses to Boston and New Orleans.

But did you know this? When Milwaukee set the NBA record with 20 consecutive victories in 1971, the Bucks lost five of their next six games. When the Lakers' 33-game streak the next season was ended by the Bucks, the Lakers lost four of their next six games.

Both teams won the NBA title that season.

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Orlando's Dwight Howard, who entered the NBA directly from high school and has the Magic headed toward its first 50-victory season and full-season division title since 1996, isn't feeling any remorse than he never played in an NCAA tournament. "I didn't miss out on anything," he said. "The only school I considered was the NBA school, where David Stern teaches."

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So exhausted after Sunday's loss at Houston that he nearly fell asleep in the training room and so hungry he asked locker-room attendants to find him some fast food, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant nonetheless rounded up four teammates to shoot with him for two hours after the team landed in Dallas that night.

Bryant asked for after-hours access to the Mavericks' practice facility after he shot 11-for-33 and the Lakers lost for the third time in four games to the Rockets, who extended their winning streak to 21 games that day.

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Just when you think it can't get any worse ... the Heat, with just seven healthy players, produced the third-lowest-scoring game since the NBA adopted the 24-second shot clock in 1954 with a 96-54 loss at Toronto on Wednesday.

"It is a tragedy when a team has something that dies inside when it is still playing, and that's what happened," coach Pat Riley said. "Something happened. Whatever it was, it died inside and it stuck the whole year."

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