By: Sheila Ray Reed

The Houston Rockets have won four games in a row, their longest winning streak since late November. That may seem hard to believe, given the fact that the Rockets boast a robust record of 33-17, but it’s the truth. The Rockets victories have been against top contenders. Three of its four wins during this run has come against Western Conference teams in playoff positions; the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and most recently, the Phoenix Suns by a score of 122-108, Wednesday night, February 5, at the Toyota Center.

Most impressively, James Hardin missed the contests against the Spurs and Mavericks, and Houston still prevailed. The reason why, Dwight Howard, he has been absolutely sensational during the stretch, averaging 26 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while shooting 59.3 percent in the process.
The center has put the team on his back of late, doing what many hoped and/or expected he would do when he signed with the Rockets over the summer. Howard sets the tone on both ends of the floor. He is absolutely dominant defensively and opens up his teammates on the offensive side, much like he did with the Orlando Magic.

Just look at what Howard did to the size-challenged Suns on Wednesday night. Dwight went off to the tune of 34 points and 14rebounds, going 11-of-17 from the floor and 12-of-18 free throws. Phoenix started with single coverage, and that obviously didn’t work. The Suns tried double-teaming, in which case Howard would merely swing the ball to the open man. It also tried fouling, and Howard made them pay there, too, just like he has been doing when teams have attempted to take advantage of his free-throw deficiencies all season.