Rockets Blow Lead and Lose to Boston

The Houston Rockets runined "Ladies Night" tonight.

The Rockets (35-21) blew an eight point fourth-quarter lead (68-60) with 4:20 left in the ball game. Boston (14-42) outscored the Rockets 17 to 4 during the final four minutes to defeat the Rockets 77 to 72.

Despite star player Tracy McGrady's missing the game due to flu-like symptoms, the Rockets, on paper, seemed to have enough to defeat the awful Celtics.

Boston scored 29 points in the first half; however, the Cs only trailed Houston by six points 35 to 29 at halftime. To say the first half was filled with ugly basketball is gross understatement. Boston shot 23.3% (10 for 43) from the field including a woe-be-gone 11.1% (1 for9) from the three point range.

Houston shot 27.0% (10 for 37) from the field including a frozen 0 for 8 from the three. Houston also committed 10 turnovers in the first half.

The third quarter featured more bad basketball; and, the Rockets took a 53 to 44 lead into the fourth quarter.

Boston's offense heated up in the fourth period while the Rockets' transition defense and rebounding took a siesta. The Celtics shot 57.9% (11 for 19) from the field and outrebounded the Rockets 13 to 8 in the final period.

With 2:22 left, Boston's Paul Pierce scored four points during Boston's successful run to tie the game at 68. The Rockets Shane Battier missed a three pointer; Houston's Bonzi Wells rebounded the miss; and Juwan Howard missed a lay-up. Celtics shooting guard Delonte West put Boston ahead 70 to 68 with 1:23 left in the game. After a bad pass by Rockets' guard Rafer Alston, Pierce swished a turnaround three-point shot to give Boston a 73 to 68 lead with just 25.9 seconds remaining in the game.

Luther Head, Rockets shooting guard, converted a 9-foot running shot to pull Houston within 3; however, West hit two foul shots to push Houston's deficit to five points (75 to 70) with 17.4 seconds remaining. Howard scored a lay-up and the Rockets fouled West once again. West made both free throws for the final score: Boston 77, Houston 72.

Pierce was the game's leading scorer with 28 points -- nine points in the fourth period.

Boston forward Al Jefferson scored 16 points and pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds.

West scored 16 points and pulled down six rebounds.

Bonzi Wells led the Rockets with 27 points.

Center Jake Tszkalidis scored seven points and grabbed a Rockets team-high 10 boards.

Houston's Shane Battier (1 for 12) and Rafer Alston (1 for 11) made just 2 of 23 field goal attempts in the ball game.

Houston finished the game 25 for 78 (32.1%) from the field including an Anarctic-like 1 for 22 (4.5%) from three point range.

Listen to Jeff Van Gundy's post game press conference: "...we got weaker..."

Miami's Wade Injures left Shoulder versus Rockets

With 10:27 left in the fourth quarter of Wednesday nights' Houston Rockets - Miami Heat game, Dwyane Wade, Heat superstar guard, left the game in a lot of pain. Wade injured his left shoulder (early word is the shoulder is dislocated) while playing defense. He ran into Rockets' forward Shane Battier; and, the next thing I see is D-Wade in tremendous agony. His left arm hung limp by his side and his faced grimaced in pain as he walked to Miami's bench. Wade was taken from the game in a wheelchair for further examination on the shoulder.

Shane Battier: "...Dwyane was on the sideline..."

Post-game comments from the Miami Heat regarding Wade's injury:

Coach Pat Riley: "...The initial word is that it is dislocated. They took him to the hospital for precautionary measures. He reached in and he got his arm caught in there."

Jason Kapono: "It's tough. It's unfortunate; but, that is the way it has gone all season. He was brought to tears; so, he must really be hurt."

Shaq: "...I knew it was pretty serious when it got hit and it (shoulder) popped out of place."

Jeff Van Gundy after Rockets win over Heat

Jeff Van Gundy, Houston Rockets head coach, gave concise answers during a shorter than usual post-game press conference following the Rockets convincing 112 to 102 victory over the Miami Heat. Houston led by as much as 18 points during the game (66 to 48); and, despite a few runs by Miami, the Rockets were able to keep the Heat at arms' length for much of the ball game.

JVG: "...not a word to describe how bad it (Rockets' defense when Dikembe Mutombo sits on the bench) is..."

McGrady: "stays in Vegas"

Take a listen to Tracy McGrady's comments...

T-Mac: "...stays in Vegas..."

Heck, there may be a commercial here, somewhere.

T-Mac wants his teammates to ATTACK!

After the Rockets 80 to 77 loss to the Dallas Mavericks tonight, Tracy McGrady told the media wants his teammates to attack the Mavs' defense when Dallas double-teams him.

Read his comments:

(on what the Rockets need to do defensively when he is forced to pass the ball) “It’s pretty simple. You know what they’re going to do. Once I get on a roll, they’re going to want to take the ball out of my hands and they’re going to deny me the ball. They’re going to send 2 guys at me and make somebody else make plays. And, once again, we didn’t know what to do and it worked into their favor.”

(on the solution to playing better defensively when he is forced to pass the ball ) “Attack, be aggressive. You’ve got 2 guys guarding me so that leaves 4 guys on 3. Attack them and we just don’t do that.”

Or, listen to them: "...attack..."

Mavs Beat Rockets 80 to 77

Twenty combined assists.

Twenty combined missed free throws.

Eighty-three combined missed field goal attempts.

Those are a few of the numbers in tonight's three point loss by the Houston Rockets to the Dallas Mavericks, 80 to 77.

The Rockets began the game slowly and trailed Dallas 21 to 14 with 3:03 left in the first quarter. However, as the fans began to arrive to their seats, the Rockets' offense started to awaken from their slumber. Juwan Howard scored four points during a 9 to 0 run by the Rockets to finish the quarter with a 23 to 21 lead over the Mavs.

With Mavs' forward Dirk Nowitzki on the bench with two fouls, Houston began to stretch its lead in the second quarter. Shane Battier scored eight points during the period and the Rockets outscored Dallas 22 to 17 in the second quarter to lead 25 to 38 at halftime.

As in the two games in Dallas versus the Mavs this season, the Rockets' third quarter woes against the Mavs reared up once again. Dallas outscored the Rockets 20 to 12 as Houston shot a miserable 3 for 13 (23.1%) in the period. Jerry Stackhouse scored seven points for the Mavs in the third period. The Rockets trailed 58 to 57 heading into the fourth period.

Stackhouse began the fourth period with two made free throws; but, McGrady made a jump shot and two free throws followed by a fast break dunk from Juwan Howard to give the Rockets a 63 to 60 lead with 10:33 left in the fourth period.

The Rockets maintained a lead the next three minutes before Nowitzki splashed in two consecutive three point shots from the top of the key to put Dallas ahead 72 to 69 with 6:23 left in the period. McGrady quickly tied the game with a three-pointer; and, the game finally became exciting.

The Mavs missed two straight shots; McGrady missed a three; but, Stackhouse made two free throws to put the Rockets behind 74 to 72.

McGrady split two free throws; but, he put the Rockets ahead 76 to 74 with a three-pointer at the 3:17 mark. After a turnover by Josh Howard, Battier split two free throws which gave the Rockets a three point lead, 77 to 74 with 3:02 left in the fourth period. Mavs' guard Jason Terry hit two free throws.

Then, Terry put the Mavs ahead with a wide-open 15-foot jump shot following a blow defensive assignment by the Rockets against the Mavs' pick-and-roll. Terry missed a three-point shot with 35.9 seconds left; but, with no times-out left, Houston's offense bogged down. Luther Head missed a three-point shot; then, Head missed a 12-foot bank shot with Terry rebounded. Terry was fouled; and, with, 4.2 seconds left, he made both free throws to give the Mavs an 80 to 77 lead. The Rockets didn't get a shot off at the end of the game.

Dallas double-teamed McGrady and the Rockets failed to score during final three minutes.

Tracy McGrady registered 27 points and 10 rebounds tonight, marking his eighth double-double of the season. He also had 28 points and 12 assists vs. Sacramento (2/13/07), which gives McGrady his first consecutive double-doubles since Nov. (11/22/06-11/25/06).

Josh Howard had 15 points and 11 rebounds tonight, marking his ninth double-digit rebounding game of the season.

Tracy McGrady registered 27 points and 10 rebounds tonight, marking his eighth double-double of the season. He also had 28 points and 12 assists vs. Sacramento (2/13/07), which gives McGrady his first consecutive double-doubles since Nov. (11/22/06-11/25/06).

Houston had a season-low nine assists tonight, surpassing the previous low of 10 vs. the L.A. Clippers (12/23/06). Defensively, the Rockets held the Mavericks to just 11 assists, equaling Houston's opponent low of 11 set by the Warriors vs. Golden State (12/5/06).

Jeff Van Gundy after the game: "...finish our defense better..."

Shane Battier: "...low energy on both team's part..."

Rockets edge Kings by five in Overtime

Tuesday night at Toyota Center, the Houston Rockets won a game without playing their 'A' game. The Rockets (33-18) defeated the Sacramento Kings (22-28) 109 to 104 in overtime despite being outplayed for much of the ball game.

The first quarter went back-and-forth as the game was tied four times and the lead changed hands three other times. Sacramento led 25 to 22 at the end of the first period. Kings' forward Ron Artest scored seven points during the period followed by six points from former Rockets' forward Kenny Thomas.

During the first part of the second quarter, the quicker Kings exploited the Rockets poor perimeter defense and built a twelve point lead (45 - 33) with 5:44 left in the period. However, Rockets guard Rafer Alston scored nine points during a 21 to 8 closing burst to give the Rockets a 54 to 51 halftime lead. Shane Battier scored 12 points in the first half; Alston and Tracy McGrady each added 11 points. T-Mac also dished nine first-half assists.

Artest and Kevin Martin scored 15 points each for the Kings in the first half.

With a 58 to 53 lead early in the third quarter, the Rockets offense went ice cold and the Kings went on an 11 to 0 run to lead 64 t0 58 with 7:51 left in the third period. The Rockets bounced back to tie the game at 75 on a reverse lay-up by Juwan Howard with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter. However, the Kings' Corliss Williamson scored five points to end the period and put the Kings ahead 80 to 77 at the end of three quarters.

Williamson and thomas scored lay-ups to begin the fourth quarter which put the Rockets in a seven point deficit (84 - 77) with 10:45 left in the fourth. With the Kings leading 87 - 81 at the 9:04 mark, neither team scored until Luther Head banked in a 10-foot jumper at the 6:45 mark. The Kings' drought continued until Artest scored a driving lay-up with 5:20 left on the game clock. The lay-up gave the Kings a lead of 89 - 83. Artest added a free throw and a 17-foot jumper to put the Kings up by nine with 4:36 remaining.

Then, Tracy McGrady became T-Mac!

First, McGrady drained a 25-foot three to pull the Rockets within six. Next, T-Mac hit a 19-f00t jump shot to trim the Kings' lead to 92 to 88. Sacramento failed to score on its next possession; and, after Bonzi Wells hit two free throws to pull Houston within two (92-90), T-Mac banked in a 25-foot three point shot to put the Rockets ahead by one point (93-92) at the 2:38 mark of the fourth period. Sacramento failed to score on three more possessions; and, after the third miss, T-Mac swished a 20-foot jumper to give the Rockets a 95 to 92 lead with just 1:20 left in the quarter.

Artest scored on a driving lay-up; but, McGrady answered with a driving lay-up of his own. Artest tied the game with a step back three-point shot in front of Shane Battier.

Following a timeout by the Rockets, Luther Head passed up a shot and threw the ball Chuck Hayes; however, Hayes was stripped of the ball by Artest with 24.9 seconds remaining. The Kings called time-out to set up a final play; however, after dribbling most of the game clock down; Artest turned the ball over without getting off a shot. Overtime.

Alston began the overtime with a three-pointer; but, Mike Bibby hit a three to tie the game at 100. Following two minutes of non-scoring, Kevin Martin gave the Kings the lead with a 19-foot jump shot. Battier put the Rockets ahead with a three-point shot with 2:12 left in the overtime. Artest hit two free throws; but, McGrady gave the Rockets the lead for good with a tough fade away jump shot over Artest's outstretched hand.

After Bibby missed a three point shot, Luther Head converted a difficult driving lay-up to give Houston a 107 to 104 lead. Then, Head forced a turnover by John Salmons; and, Luther hit two free throws for the final score.

McGrady finished the game with 28 points and 12 assists. Artest tied his career-high with 39 points. Chuck Hayes grabbed 14 rebounds. Battier added 25 points and eight rebounds.

Tonight's win by the Rockets is the first time this season the Rockets have come back to win a game when trailing after three quarters. Houston 's record now stands at 1-13 when trailing after three periods this season.

Rockets 109, Kings 104.

Rockets' post-game remarks:

JVG: "...seduced by our record..."

Shane: "...a lot of teams fold..."

T-Mac: "...it was going to be our game..."

Jeff Van Gundy: Discusses Yao Ming's Return

After today's shootaround, Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy gave his comments regarding when Rockets center Yao Ming will return to action. Not just practice but playing in basketball games.

Listen to what Jeff told the media: "...once you can practice..."

The Rockets play the Sacramento Kings tonight at Toyota Center. Tip-off is at 7:35 p.m.

JVG: too few minutes

After Saturday's victory, Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy, told the media he wouldn't play Kirk Snyder and Bonzi Wells in the rotation at the same time because it becomes too muddled.

Well, after today's practice, some of my media colleagues decided to ask JVG to elaborate on those comments.

Take a listen to what JVG told us: "...too few minutes..."

btw, Bonzi participated in today's practice. He told us he expects to play in tomorrow's game versus Sacramento.

JVG and Skip after Rockets Blowout of Bobcats

Instead of wilting to a deficit like last night versus the Dallas Mavericks, tonight, the Houston Rockets shook off a slow start to rout the Charlotte Bobcats 104 to 83 before 18,061 fans at Toyota Center.

Houston (32-18) trailed Charlotte (18-33) 13 to 2 just eight minutes and 38 seconds into the ball game. Nine of those points came on wide open three-point shots from guard Raymond Felton and forward Matt Carroll. The Rockets calmed down on offense and improved on defense to end the first quarter with a 29 to 28 lead.

Luther Head scored nine points in the second quarter as the Rockets outscored the Bobcats 31 to 18 to take a 60 to 46 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

Six Rockets players scored in double figures. Luther Head led all scorers with 17 points. Tracy McGrady (just 6 for 17 from the field) and Juwan Howard added 16 points each. Kirk Snyder scored a season-high 15 points off the bench; and, Dikembe Mutombo poured in 14 points (and a game-high 14 rebounds) while Rafer "Skip to My Lou" Alston scored 14 points; dished out eight assists; and swiped a career-high nine steals.

The Rockets forced the Bobcats to commit a season-high 27 turnovers thanks to a 20 steals. The 20 steals tied for the third-most in team history.

Jeff Van Gundy: "...a great group..."

Rafer Alston: "We played the entire game..."

Willis, Morris, and Zo after 70-55 win over Southern Miss

Wednesday night, the Rice Owls defeated Southern Miss 70 to 55 before a sparse crowd of 1,305 fans at Rice University's Autry Court.

Morris Almond, "Mr. Efficient", led the Owls with 35 points. Why do I refer to Morris as "Mr. Efficient"? He scored those 35 points on just 21 field goal attempts. He made 14 of those shots (including 4 for 4 from three); and, he was a perfect three for three from the foul line.

A scout for the NBA's Indiana Pacers attended last night's game to see Morris. The scout was very impressed by Morris' performance.

Rice (12-10, 6-3) led 30 to 22 at the half. Southern Miss (14-8, 4-5) entered the game as one of the best defensive teams in C-USA. Well, the Owls carved up the Golden Eagles' defense in the first half by hitting 59.1% (13 for 22) from the field. To prove the first half showing was no fluke, Rice shot 57.7% (15 for 26) from the field in the second half.

Owls' senior point guard Lorenzo Williams scored 11 points and added four assists and three rebounds.

Southern Miss pulled within five points (43 to 38) at the 12:47 mark of the second half; however, Rice went on a 12 to 3 scoring run during the next three minutes to put the game away.

Listen to the Owls' post-game press conference featuring Morris, Lorenzo, and head coach Willis Wilson:
Rice 70, Southern Miss 55.

Rockets Rout Minnesota by 28

The following quote from Randy Wittman, the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, should give you a good idea of who won tonight's game between the Houston Rockets and the Timberwolves:

(on his team's play): "Our guard play was atrocious. There was no direction at all. I didn't recognize what we were doing offensively. I don't know what to do; but, I have to find the answer. If you have good guard play in the league, you have a shot; but, we are not getting any guard play...This loss is the whole damn team. We didn't have anybody come out with any heart or desire."

Wittman kept going:

(on his future team plans): "I'm not going to keep the status quo. I didn't see this coming. We'll see who wants to play, even if its only five guys. I want to see who wants to play every night. I have three or four guys I can count on every night and that is about it."

The Rockets blasted Minnesota 105 to 77.

Houston (30-17) started the game slowly and led Minnesota (22-26) just 21 to 15 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was entirely different. Houston made 11 of 22 from the field in the period; outrebounded Minnesota 15 to 9; and outscored the Timberwolves 29 to 15 during the period. Luther Head scored eight points in the period; followed by seven from Tracy McGrady; and six points from Juwan Howard.

Houston led 50 to 30 at the half. Houston's 50 point first half tonight was more than the Rockets had through three quarters of play versus the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets on February 3, 2007.

McGrady scored 16 points (six for 10 from the field) in the third quarter and helped the Rockets extend the lead to as much as 30 points (82 to 52) at the end of the quarter.

Luther Head tied his season high of five 3-pointers (5-7 3FG) en route to 20 points: 5-of-8 vs. the L.A. Clippers (12/23/06) and 5-of-6 vs. Memphis (12/31/06). Overall, Head has four 20-point games on the season, as the first three came as a starter. Seven of Head's nine career 20-point games have come as a starter. His only other 20-point game off the bench was a 20-point night vs. Toronto (12/21/05).

Jeff Van Gundy: "...much more inspirational..."

Tracy McGrady: "...best player has to step up..."

T-Mac led all scorers with 32 points (12 for 27 from the field, 6 for 8 from the foul line) in just 30 minutes of game action.

Minneosta's Kevin Garnett finished the game with 18 points; 12 rebounds; and five assists.

A few good indicators to describe the lop-sided nature of this game: McGrady and Dikembe Mutombo participated in tossing Rockets merchandise into the crowd during two times-out. Next, the Rockets' "Red Rowdies" sang "Happy Birthday" to Juwan Howard during the fourth quarter; and, Howard acknowledged the song with a smile and a thumbs up to the Rowdies.

Juwan Howard finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, which marked his fifth 20-point game of 2006-07. All five of his 20-point performances have now come since 12/31/06.

Penders Challenges Seniors to be more Vocal

Saturday's eight point road loss by the Houston Cougars to the UTEP Miners bothered Cougars' head coach Tom Penders. The loss was not as bothersome to Coach Penders as the lack of effort given by his team in the ball game.

Today, at his weekly media press conference / luncheon, Coach Penders was very candid with his comments regarding the play of the team in Saturday's game; the lack of vocal leadership being provided by his seniors; and a potential change to the team's starting line-up as early as this Wednesday versus SMU.

Take a listen to what he had to say:

"...didn't give the effort..."

"...hunch and your heart..."

"...don't have the depth..."

"...most disappointing..."

Senior forward Jahmar Thorpe: "...Coach is challenging us..."

JVG and T-Mac after Rockets ugly loss to Hornets

I covered three basketball games today; and , the Houston team lost all three games. The Rockets capped off the day of losing with an ugly 87 to 74 loss to the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets.

Houston trailed 33 to 33 at halftime. Yes, halftime.

The Rockets managed just 49 points after three quarters of play.

Rafer Alston and Hornets wing player Desmond Mason were ejected in the first quarter.

The less I write about this game the better.

The Rockets tonight scored their fewest points in a game this season with 74, surpassing the 76 they recorded at Indiana (12/26/06). In the process, Houston registered just 30 points on 11-of-42 (.262) shooting over the first two quarters, matching the team's lowest first-half output of the season (30 in 1st half on 1/8/07 at Chicago). Houston also had just 15 first-quarter points, which equaled its low of 15 set at New Orleans/Oklahoma City (11/5/06).

JVG after the game: "...not ready to play..."

Tracy McGrady after the game: "...nights like this..."

Penders' Comments after Coogs 70 to 63 win over Rice

Kudos to whoever was involved with the University of Houston in getting a big crowd of students to attend Wednesday night's UH - Rice game at Hofheinz Pavilion. The students created a loud, exciting atmosphere as 6,115 fans saw the Cougars hold on to defeat the Owls 70 to 63.

Houston (11-9, 5-2) opened the game with two dunks from forward Dion Dowell and never trailed in the game.

Rice's Morris Almond, the Owls' All-America candidate, was limited to 21 points (six below his 27.4 ppg scoring average) as Marcus Malone did an excellent job defending Almond one-on-one. Houston's team defense helped hold Almond to just 16 field goal attempts and just three free throw attempts.

Houston shot 21 for 30 from the foul line while Rice (10-10, 4-3) shot just six for 15 from the charity stripe.

The Coogs led 36 to 23 at the half. Jahmar Thorpe, Houston senior forward, scored 10 points in the game's opening 20 minutes.

Thorpe and Dowell each scored 16 points while junior guard Robert "Fluff" McKiver led the Coogs with 21 points; and Oliver Lafayette chipped in with 12 points.

Rodney Foster scored 11 points for Rice.

UH heads to El Paso, TX, this Saturday, February 3, for an evening match-up with UTEP. Tip-off is set for 8:05 pm.

Listen to Coach Penders' post-game comments:

"...led from start to finish..."

"...get this kind of crowd..."

"...better defensively..."

"...NCAA Tournament..."