The Milwaukee Bucks 1970-71 team won 20 straight late in the season on their way to a 66-16 campaign and an NBA title. (Getty)

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March 14, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- The Houston Rockets have won 20 games in a row and tied the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks for the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. With Houston equaling Milwaukee’s mark, Bucks.com chatted with a member of that Bucks team and current broadcaster, Jon McGlocklin.

McGlocklin remembers that the Bucks didn’t get overly high or rattled during the team’s streak – a streak that saw them average 118.3 points to 100.4 for their opponents and tally four 30-point wins and five 20-point wins. They were a confident group that was used to winning a lot of games (they had winning streaks of 16 and 10 games before the 20 game winning streak).

“The Knicks won 18 straight the year before and then we came along and broke that record,” McGlocklin noted. “I don’t remember the team making a big deal about it. We felt that we could win a lot of games and we took things day-to-day. Our team was good enough where we could reach back and win games even if we were behind.”

We asked McGlocklin about the differences in the streaks since the Bucks 20-game streak and the Lakers 33-game streak each came more than 30 years before the Rockets accomplishment. He noted the deep talent level of the league back then…

“I don’t know if it’s harder to do back then or today,” McGlocklin said. “Some might say it’s harder to accomplish today, but there were 17 teams back then, a little more than half of what there are now, so the talent was pretty deep. I think the quality and depth was probably better back then.”

Jonny Mac had a few other thoughts about the Rockets and their impressive accomplishments: “I think what Houston has done is remarkable,” McGlocklin noted. “They’ve won several games without their big man. When we had our streak, along with the Lakers a year later, we were dominant teams. Houston has Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, but they aren’t a dominant team. You’d think a team like Boston or Detroit could do it – they have the advantage of playing more games in the East. It’s impressive that Houston has been able to do it against Western Conference competition.

"If someone had asked me to pick five teams that could win 20 in a row, the first teams you’d think of are Boston, Detroit and the Lakers – after their trade. It’s really incredible when you consider all of that."

Along with his experience in Milwaukee’s 20-game winning streak, McGlocklin has experience at halting winning streaks. The Bucks ended the Lakers 33-game string on January 9, 1972 with a decisive 120-104 win. Bucks.com asked McGlocklin what it’s like, as a player, to go up against a team that has put together a long winning streak.

“When I was a player and a team with a winning streak came to play us, I didn’t want to be another notch on their belt,” McGlocklin said. “You don’t want to be a part of the group that they’ve beaten. If I were a coach, I would think that’s something you could use as motivation.”

That’s something the Rockets will have to deal with Friday night as they attempt to pass the Bucks for sole possession of second place on the winning streak list. They’ll host the Charlotte Bobcats at 7:30 central in an attempt to zero in on the Lakers mark of 33. It hasn’t been an easy road thus far and it definitely won’t get easier as they now have a bulls-eye on their back.