HOUSTON -- After the Philadelphia 76ers tied an NBA record with their 26th consecutive loss, one of their youngest voices spoke loudest. Michael Carter-Williams, one of six rookies on the NBAs youngest team, delivered a pep talk after James Hardens triple-double led the Houston Rockets to a 120-98 victory on Thursday night. "During the game a couple of guys had long faces ... and I found myself a little bit down," said Carter-Williams, who had 10 assists. "I just dont want anyone in this locker room feeling bad for themselves ... I think thats really important that we dont get down on ourselves and we just give up just because we have a certain amount of losses. "I just felt like I needed to speak my piece and make sure that guys are upbeat every single day." Philadelphia coach Brett Brown was impressed by the leadership the 22-year-old Carter-Williams showed. "He never would have done that two months ago," Brown said. "He wouldnt have done it two weeks ago. All these things, all these small wins we find along the way, thats our road map this year. And life moves on. The group will stay together and we will finish this thing out together." Harden had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in three quarters for his second career triple-double as Houston picked up its fifth straight victory. "We did a great job of coming out tonight and taking care of business," Harden said. "No matter what their record was, we knew they were going to come here and play hard." The 76ers (15-57) stuck around early before a big second-quarter run allowed the Rockets to pull away and roll to the win. Philadelphia moved within a game of Milwaukee for the leagues worst record. Philadelphia matched the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBAs worst skid and can set the record at home against Detroit on Saturday. "We move on," Brown said. "We are on a different path. We see this whole thing through a far different lens." James Anderson led the Sixers with 30 points and made six 3-pointers. The Sixers havent won since Jan. 29 and are two games away from going winless in two straight months. There was very little visible emotion as the final seconds ticked away and the players slowly made their way off the court. Dwight Howard added 17 points with 13 rebounds for Houston. Terrence Jones had 20 points. There were a number of lowlights as the 76ers took their spot in history. One came when Howard blocked a shot by Thaddeus Young and he fell backward to the ground. By the time he got up, the Rockets were already on the other end of the court running their offence. Another was when the Sixers got a steal, but gave it back seconds later when Youngs pass intended for Anderson sailed high over his head and into the crowd. Carter-Williams got in on the bad play action when, under heavy pressure from Harden, he simply threw the ball into the Philadelphia bench in the second quarter. But the game wasnt without some nice plays by the Sixers, who have continued to play hard during this terrible stretch. A highlight came when Casper Ware grabbed a steal and made a 46-foot heave as time expired in the first quarter. That shot was part of a 12-0 run which got the Sixers within 35-33 early in the second quarter. A nice reverse layup by Anderson tied it at 43-all midway through the second quarter before Houston used a 20-6 run to take a 63-49 lead at halftime. The Sixers missed nine shots, including three layups, and had four turnovers as the Rockets built the lead. Houston was up by 17 late in the third quarter when the team went on an 8-0 run to pad the lead to 96-71. Brown addressed the dreadful stretch before the game and he isnt interested in anyones pity. "I hope they feel good about themselves," he said. "I dont want anyone feeling sorry for us or hanging our head ... we are going through something and we will get through it together." He also discussed their plan for rebuilding at length, saying he knew what he was getting into when he took the job and insisted this skid hasnt been difficult for him. "I can tell you very, very sincerely that this is something that in a twisted way is enjoyable in regards to watching the young guys get better," he said. "Obviously at times its hard going through it ... (but) I feel like were heading in the right direction." None of that can erase the fact that this streak now has its place in history as one of the worst in all of the four major professional sports. According to STATS LLC, the longest streaks in the other major sports are held by: -- In the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26 losses in row, from Sept. 12, 1976-Dec. 4 1977. -- In MLB, the Philadelphia Phillies, 23 losses in a row, from Jan. 29, 1961-Aug. 20, 1961. -- In the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins, 18 losses in a row, from Jan. 13, 2004-Feb. 22, 2004. NOTES: Former Rockets and Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Moses Malone attended the game. Malone also played for the 76ers. ... Houston point guard Pat Beverley sprained his right knee in the first half and didnt return. Cory Schneider Team USA Hockey Jersey . Canadas 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinal ranks as the tournaments most-watched game with a record 2.7 million viewers, the largest ever for a World Juniors game played outside of North America, and winning Saturday as the most-watched program on Canadian television. Dustin Byfuglien Jersey . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. http://www.hockeyauthenticusaonline.us/B...afalski-Jersey/. Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. Matt Niskanen Jersey . The American secured his first back-to-back ATP match wins since June to leave Tsonga relying on his performance at next weeks Paris Masters to clinch one of the final three places for the season-ending event in London. Tsonga would have moved up one spot to No. 6 with a win over Querrey at the City of Arts and Sciences, but his serve deserted him in the second set as the 116th-ranked American broke twice to reach the quarter-finals.TORONTO - The Raptors learned a little bit about themselves in a narrow defeat to the Chicago Bulls Wednesday, a game with playoff-type intensity and their third consecutive against an opponent directly behind them in the standings. On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. They have navigated through early-season tank speculation, theyve come together after a momentum shifting seven-player deal and they continue to block out the noise emitting from the incessant batch of rumours surrounding their starting point guard. At 3:00 PM et Thursday afternoon all that noise will be muzzled until the offseason, all the uncertainty finally put to bed. Finally, they will all know where they stand, at least for the next couple months. So, with the big day rapidly approaching, will Kyle Lowry - the primary subject of trade speculation - be losing any sleep on the eve of the deadline? "Nope," scoffed the Raptors point guard, as that question was posed following his teams 94-92 loss to the Bulls. "Not at all." "Any other questions about that," he asked, daring the hoard of local media to try their luck again. There were no more questions. It was worth a try, after all, its the question thats on everyones mind. Will Lowry be wearing a Raptors jersey when the team hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday? Still, it was a futile attempt to get a rise out of a player who has been relatively unshakable all season. Lowry, like the rest of his teammates, is fully aware of whats at stake as he waits to learn his fate. The upcoming deadline has been on the their minds, whether they care to admit it or not, but its not a subject thats welcome for discussion in the locker room. "Thankfully on this team, no, no ones talked about it, no ones mentioned it," said Patrick Patterson, ahead of the teams win in Washington Tuesday. "The only thing Ive seen is just stuff on Twitter, the internet, Bleacher Report, whatever, yada, yada, yada, rumours but as far as this group of guys from tthe coaching staff on down to each player on the roster, no one has mentioned anything.ddddddddddddquot; Patterson arrived in the trade from Sacramento on Dec. 9, along with Kings teammates Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes. Since then, this team has gelled in a way that no one could have possibly imagined, going 22-12 with the new additions in uniform. Chemistry is a word thats been used to describe this group both on and off the floor and, as Ujiri has insisted, its something the Raptors general manager values above all else. Ujiri, in conversation with TSN.ca over the weekend, expressed a reluctance to disrupt that newfound chemistry unless the right deal comes along. Hes not alone. Dwane Casey wouldnt mind seeing 15 familiar faces in the locker room when he comes into work on Friday. "I like our guys," Casey said. "I know Masai is working 24/7 on the phones and looking at different scenarios. We talked a long time today. But I like our guys. If we (bring) our team back Im happy." "I always said since I came (here), the players will dictate where we go and the team will dictate where we go," Ujiri told TSN.ca on Sunday. "Thats kind of how its been." The players have spoken. The Raptors hold third place in the Eastern Conference, a 1/2 game in front of the fourth-seeded Bulls after Wednesdays loss. They were outplayed on both ends of the floor in the second night of a back-to-back. It was a brutally physical and fiercely competitive game in which seven technical fouls were handed out. The Raptors were down and out early but they fought back, as they have done time and time again, showing mental and physical toughness. Theyre a resilient bunch, theyve proven that, and they believe theyve earned the right to see this thing out. "I believe that nothing will (happen Thursday)," Patterson predicted. "No trades will be made due to the success that weve had since the (Sacramento deal)." "Why break up something thats been going so well," he asked, rhetorically. "None of us are talking about trades, none of us are talking about wanting to leave and everyone is happy with the current situation." 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