T-Mac's 38 Helps Rockets Edge Memphis 111-109

If you weren't at Toyota Center Sunday night, you missed one exciting ball game between the Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies (7-25). Tracy McGrady scored a game-high 38 points to lead the Rockets to a 111 to 109 victory. McGrady shot 15 for 30 from the field including 5 for 8 from the Land of Three.

Juwan Howard was solid once again. Howard scored 22 points (5 for 10 from the field and 12 for 13 from the foul line) and pulled down seven boards.

Memphis' swingman Mike Miller led the Grizzlies with 32 points. Miller was on fire tonight. He hit 12 of his 17 field goal attempts including a red-hot 7 for 10 from behind the arc.

Miller and McGrady each scored 22 points in a back-and-forth first half. Memphis led 59 to 58 at halftime. The Grizzlies shot 59% (23 for 39) in the first 24 minutes including 63.6% (7 for 11) from three-point range. McGrady made 8 of his 15 first half shots including 4 for 5 on three-pointers.

The Rockets' defense improved in the third quarter and held the Grizzlies to just 15 points while erasing their one-point half time deficit to leading 84 to 74 after three quarters.

After rookie forward Steve Novak drained a three-pointer to give the Rockets an 87 to 77 lead, Memphis scored eight straight points to pull within two points. McGrady answered the run with a three-point shot; then, Grizzlies big man Stromile Swift made left-handed jump hook only to see McGrady answer with a bank shot from nine feet away to give the Rockets a 92 to 87 lead with 6:06 left in the fourth quarter.

Memphis scored the next six points to lead 93 to 92 with 4:40 left; but, guard Rafer Alston hit a 10-foot runner to put the Rockets ahead by one. Swift tied the game at 94 by splitting two free throws; Howard hit two free throws for a 96 to 94 Rockets lead. Center Pau Gasol split two more free throws; then, Rockets forward Shane Battier hit his only three-point shot of the game to boost Houston's lead to 99 to 95.

McGrady drained an 18-foot jumper; and, following a missed lay-up by Grizzlies guard Chucky Atkins, Luther Head swished a three-point shot to give the Rockets a 104 to 95 lead with 1:58 remaining.

The Grizzlies didn't quit and missed free throws down the stretch made the end of the game exciting. Gasol and Miller narrowed the lead to 106 to 102; but, Luther Head hit his fifth three-pointer of the game to boost Houston's lead to seven with just 33.6 seconds remaining.

Gasol hit two free throws; Alston missed two free throws; Miller hit a six-foot runner in the paint which made the score 109 to 106. Luther Head split two free throws; and, Swift scored on a putback with 6.2 seconds remaining to make the score 110 to 108.

Alston was fouled; he missed the first free throw; but, he made the second shot. Trailing by three points (111 to 108), Memphis called a 20-second timeout. Instead of allowing a game-tying three-point shot, Alston fouled Chucky Atkins with 3.6 seconds to go in the game. Atkins made the first and intentionally missed the second shot. Fittingly, McGrady rebounded the miss and the clock expired for the two point Rockets win.

After the game, Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy said, "We take great pride..."

T-Mac told the media, he tries to "get rolling early..."

The Rockets (19-12) continue their four-game homestand Wednesday night, January 3, versus the Seattle Supersonics. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm.

Coogs lose to Runnin' Rebels 78-62

I'm going to start with post-game comments from Houston Cougars' head coach Tom Penders first following Houston's ugly 78 to 62 loss to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels (13-2) Saturday night at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Coach Penders saw the game differently than I did; so, listen to his comments:
"...try to penetrate..."

The Cougars jacked up 24 three-point shots in the first half and made just three of them. Amazingly, Houston trailed by eight points (34 to 26) at halftime. UH attempted just nine shots from two-point range in the game's opening 20 minutes. The Cougars were close mainly because UNLV made just 11 of their 28 field goal attempts in the half.

UNLV shot better in the second half and the Coogs were doomed. With 7:46 left in the ball game, UNLV was 10 for 10 from the foul line and 10 for 15 from the field including 4 for 6 from three point range. Thanks to those outstanding numbers, UNLV 68 to 50. The lead grew to as much as 22 points (78 to 56) with 1:46 left in the game.

The Cougars made just 32.4% (22 for 68) of their field goal attempts including a woe-be-gone 5 for 36 from behind the three-point arc. Though they made 22 shots, UH managed just five assists.

UNLV finished the game shooting 45.5% (25 for 55) from the field; but, they managed 15 assists on their 15 made baskets. The Runnin' Rebels were led by 17 points from sophomore guard Jovan "Wink" Adams. Wink also added nine assists. Adams played his high school ball at Houston's Gulf Shores Academy charter school; so, he definitely made the most of his homecoming. Senior forward Gaston Essengue added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Wendell White added 14 and Kevin Kruger chipped in with 13 points.

Houston was led by 16 points from senior guard Oliver Lafayette; however, Lafayette made just six of his 15 shots including 3 for 9 on three point shots. Dion Dowell added 14 points and Jahmar Thorpe scored 11 points. Senior point guard Lanny Smith scored 9 points (3 for 13 shooting); but, he did hand out four of Houston's five assists.

Houston (5-6) heads to Lexington, KY, to face the Kentucky Wildcats on January 3.

Rockets Completely Overwhelm Hawks 94-68

Friday night, the Houston Rockets played a complete basketball game; and, the Atlanta Hawks were the hapless victims of such a complete performance. The Rockets defeated the Hawks 94 to 68 before a soldout crowd (18,134) at Toyota Center.

Tracy McGrady led all scorers with 31 points (in just 27 minutes and 37 seconds). McGrady found an offensive groove in the second quarter and stayed in that groove while he was on the court. T-Mac scored 18 points in the second period and 26 points in the first half. McGrady torched any Hawks defender coach Mike Woodson placed on him. The only reason McGrady didn't score more than 31 points is he jammed his left thumb in third quarter and sat out the rest of the ball game because the game was well in hand at the time.

Juwan Howard added a season-high 17 points and tied his season-high with 14 rebounds. Howard also added five assists.

Dikembe Mutombo played like a youngster diving on the floor for loose balls. Deke grabbed 14 rebounds in only 21 minutes and 35 seconds. Mutombo's presence on the floor simply disabled the Hawks' offense.

Rafer Alston added 12 points and Luther Head scored 11.

Shane Battier only scored five points; but, he played great defense on Hawks' superstar Joe Johnson and helped limit Johnson to just 11 points on 5 for 13 shooting.

Houston (18-12) led Atlanta 20 to 14 at the end of the first quarter; 46 to 32 at halftime; and 75 to 46 at the end of the third quarter. The game was never in doubt.

Rockets' head coach Jeff Van Gundy praised his team's very solid performance after the game:
"We had a good level of passion..."

The Rockets host the Memphis Grizzlies New Year's Eve at 6pm.

Luther Head talks about losing Yao for 6 weeks and losing to the Clips

Despite scoring 22 points, including a season-high five 3-pointers (5 for 8), Luther Head was not happy. Not only did the Rockets blow a 48 to 39 lead at halftime to the Los Angeles Clippers in a 98 to 93 loss, the worse news is Rockets center Yao Ming will miss at least six weeks with a fracture in his right knee.

Luther said there's "...still no excuse..." for losing this game.

Ironically, the Rockets played well after Yao Ming's injury in the first quarter; however, the team defense completely collapsed in the second half as the Clippers scored 59 points on 66.7% (20 for 30) field goal shooting.

Six Clippers scored in double figures led by a season-high 21 points from forward Tim Thomas.

Shane Battier led all scorers with a game-high 28 points. In addition to Battier's points and 22 points from Luther Head, Rafer Alston added 21.

The Rockets (16-11) head back on the road for a quick two game trip to Indiana (12/26) and New Jersey (12/27).

JVG discusses Yao's injury and loss to Clips

Jeff Van Gundy spoke to the media after Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in his usual matter-of-fact way.

First, he said he felt bad for the injury to center Yao Ming which will keep the Rockets' big man out of action for at least six weeks.

Then, JVG chided his team for their porous defense in the second half which led to the Rockets' 98 to 93 loss to the Clips. The Rockets wasted a good first half and a 48 to 39 halftime lead by allowing 59 second half points to the Clippers.

Next, Van Gundy told the media the Rockets have enough to win games as they are currently constructed; but, the team needs to make a few changes in play-calling and attitude. JVG compared the Rockets to his 1999 New York Knicks team which lost center Patrick Ewing to injury. That Knicks team reached the NBA Finals that season.

Lastly, JVG wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

Listen to Jeff Van Gundy's post-game press conference:

"...I feel bad for Yao..."

Yao Ming out at least six weeks with knee injury

Yao Ming, the best center in the NBA, and the Houston Rockets best player in 2006 will be out a minimum of six weeks with a fracture to the tibial plateau of his right knee.

The injury occurred at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter during Saturday night's Rockets - Los Angeles Clippers' game. Yao was rolled into by teammate Chuck Hayes. Yao collapsed to the floor clutching his right knee. He was helped off the court; and, the original diagnosis was a bone bruise to his right knee. An MRI was done later and a fracture was noticed in his knee.

Listen to Rockets' athletic trainer Keith Jones discuss the injury:
"...minimum of six weeks..."

Willis Wilson after Owls Defeat PV

Wednesday night at Autry Court, the Rice Owls (5-4) defeated the Prairie View A&M Panthers 82 to 65 before a crowd of 1,175 fans. Rice shot 71.1% (27 for 38 -- yes, just 38 shot attempts) for the game; however, head coach Willis Wilson was not completely satisfied with his team's effort. Why?

32 turnovers! Also, the Panthers picked up 25 offensive boards as well.

This game was really never in doubt from the opening tip; but, the Owls did not do themselves any favors with so many turnovers in the second half.

Owls' All-American Morris Almond scored 28 points (6 of 8 from the field, 3 for 5 on threes, 13 for 15 from the free throw line) in just 32 minutes. Almond added 11 rebounds and five assists; but, he contributed to 32 turnovers with five TOs himself.

Freshman guard Chris Hagan scored 17 points for the Owls (7 for 9 shooting); but, Hagan committed a game-high nine turnovers.

Rice led 44 to 25 at halftime and led by as much as 31 (65 to 34) in the second half; but, the Panthers began full-court pressure and the Owls seemed to have no idea whatsoever how to consistently break the pressure defense. Therefore, Rice turned the ball over 19 times in the second half.

Prairie View was led by Chris Gaines' 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting. Derek Johnson added 11 points. Ivory McGilvery, the team's leading scorer coming into the game, did not score in the ball game. McGilvery, freshman shooting guard, missed all 10 of his field goal attempts.

After the unique ball game, Owls head coach Willis Wilson spoke to the media and praised his team's field goal shooting; however, he was very disappointed in the 32 turnovers. He also gave credit to PV for playing hard the entire 40 minutes of the ball game.

Take a listen...

Willis Wilson: "...they do not quit..."

JVG after the Rockets' 102 to 94 loss to the Lakers

The Houston Rockets played well; crappy; and exciting basketball all in one game. Thanks to 12 first-quarter points from Yao Ming, the Rockets led the LA Lakers 25 to 21 after the first 12 minutes.

Then, the Rockets' defense disappeared. The Lakers carved up the Rockets over the second and third quarters and outscored Houston 63 to 39 during that span. LA led by as much as 27 points. Trailing 94 to 73 in the fourth quarter, the Rockets went on a 19 to 0 run to pull within two points (94 to 92) with 1:38 left in the game. Unfortunately, Houston would get no closer and the Lakers won by eight points.

After the game, Jeff Van Gundy spoke to the media and stated matter-of-factly "...they sliced us up good..."

Luther Head after Rockets' Loss to Lakers

Take a listen to Houston Rockets' guard Luther Head's post-game comments after the Rockets 102 to 94 loss to the LA Lakers.

Houston trailed the Lakers 94 to 73 with 7:34 left in the fourth quarter; then, they went on a 19 to 0 run to trim the deficit to two points.

Luther scored a career-high 21 points (including 11 in the fourth) in the game; however, he blamed the Rockets' awful third quarter on "...dumb mistakes..."

JVG and T-Mac after Rockets Rout of Warriors

Tuesday night the Houston Rockets did what good teams do -- they dominated a wounded, outmanned basketball team. The Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 118 to 90 and the final score is not a clear enough indication just how dominant the Rockets were throughout the ball game. Houston (12-5) led the Warriors (9-10) by as much as 33 points during the game. The Warriors played last night (and lost by 40); and, they were without key player Jason Richardson.

The Rockets showed no mercy.

Houston took complete advantage of big man Yao Ming in the first quarter as Yao dominated the shorter and smaller Warriors with 17 points in the first quarter on 8 of 10 shooting from the field.

Yao Ming finished the game with 27 points in just 29 minutes.

The Rockets led by 15 points (35 to 20) at the end of the first quarter; and, they were just getting started smacking the Warriors around Toyota Center.

The Rockets took a 60 to 44 lead into halftime; and, then, Tracy McGrady went to work in the third period. T-Mac scored 13 points in the period on 6 of 11 shooting; and, he finished the game with a game-high 31 points and seven assists.

After the game, Tracy said, "We had to jump on them quick..."

The Rockets shot 53.6% (43 for 84) from the field and out-rebounded the Warriors 52 to 35. Forward Chuck Hayes pulled down 15 rebounds while Juwan Howard grabbed 11 boards while coming off the bench.

Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy talked with the media after the game and he felt he needed to "get back to the positives..."

Houston travels to Minnesota and plays the T-wolves tomorrow night. We'll see if the Rockets can continue their winning ways.