Houston Rockets: Monster losing streak followed by historic win streak

The Houston Rockets make sports history across four major North American sports after recent six-game win streak. 

The 1-16 Houston Rockets were the worst team in the NBA.

Now, the 7-16 Rockets are the third-worst team in the Western Conference — and they just made major sports history for their recent spate of wins.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Rockets are the first team in the NBA/NFL/MLB/NHL history to go on a six-game winning streak immediately following a losing streak of 15+ games.

Houston Rockets make NBA history with recent win streak

Upon further examination, the recent win streak may not be all that surprising considering the Rockets have played some of the NBA’s worst teams in their recent six-game span.

The Rockets played the Oklahoma City Thunder twice, as well as the New Orleans Pelicans. These two teams are ranked below them in the Western Conference, and each of these teams has won seven or fewer games this season. The Rockets also defeated the Orlando Magic, who are 5-19 in the Eastern Conference.

Still, the easy matchups shouldn’t invalidate the recent success of the Rockets, who have held their own and come out with wins against the NBA’s teams as well. The Rockets gave the No. 2 ranked Chicago Bulls one of their eight losses, as well as handing a loss to the No. 6 ranked Charlotte Hornets. Their Hornets game was the highest-scoring game they’ve had all season, scoring 146 points to outrank Charlotte’s 143 points.

The biggest difference for the Rockets is the success of their scoring, with contributions from all over their roster. Before their six-game win streak, the Rockets scored above 100 points seven times in 17 games. During their win streak, the Rockets haven’t scored below 102.

In their Dec. 5 win over the Pelicans, Christian Wood and Eric Gordon posted 23 points apiece, with contributions from their three fellow starters and virtually everyone on their bench. The centers stole the game, with Wood, Daniel Theis and rookie Alperen Sengun putting up a combined 45 points.

On Wednesday, the Rockets will look to continue their win streak against the Brooklyn Nets at home.