Miracle Comeback Falls Short
Tuesday night at Toyota Center, I saw the awful Houston Rockets; the good Houston Rockets; and the scrappy Houston Rockets play the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers defeated the Rockets 102 to 94 before an announced crowd of 18,392 (Toyota Center record); however, three Rockets teams were on display Tuesday night during the 48 minute ball game.
The "good Rockets" played in the first quarter and led LA 25 to 21 after the game's first 12 minutes. Since the Lakers opted to defend Yao Ming one-on-one, the big fella dominated and scored 12 points in the opening quarter on five of eight shooting from the field.
The "awful Rockets" took over for the next 24 minutes. Though Yao scored nine more points for a total of 21 first half points, the Rockets began to impersonate a sieve on defense and the Lakers rolled up 33 second quarter points -- 20 points came in the paint.
The Lakers took a 54 to 51 lead into halftime.
The third quarter began with a Bonzi Wells sighting for the Rockets; however, Bonzi's showing was far from impressive. He picked up three fouls and two turnovers in five and a half minutes; however, he did get one assists and two rebounds. While he was on the court, Bonzi's defense was porous; and, unfortunately, the rest of the Rockets' defense was non-existent. The Lakers outscored the Rockets 30 to 13 during the third period including 16 straight points. Houston's defense was compounded by 10 third quarter turnovers which helped LA lead 84 to 64 at the end of three quarters.
The "awful Rockets" played a few more minutes in the fourth period and LA took full advantage and boosted the lead to 27 points (93 to 66) with 9:45 remaining in the game. As Rockets' fans began exiting, a strange thing started to take place, the "scrappy Rockets" appeared.
Luther Head, John Lucas III, Steve Novak, Scott Padgett, and Chuck Hayes injected life into Toyota Center and led an amazing comeback thanks to a 26 to 1 run to pull within two points (94 to 92) with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter. In fact, after a missed jump shot by Kobe Bryant and a loose ball foul called on LA's Brian Cook, Rockets' forward Scott Padgett had a chance to tie the game at the foul line. Surprisingly, Padgett, a good free throw shooter, missed both attempts. Those missed shots seemed to drain the energy from the Rockets and their fans. Bryant drove for a lay-up which rimmed out; however, Lakers' center Kwame Brown was credited with tipping in the missed shot. (Replays appeared to show Brown tapped the ball while it was still on the rim which would be offensive basket interference and result in no basket and Rockets ball out of bounds.)
The largest advantage by a Houston opponent this season prior to tonight was a 22-point lead by the Suns over the Rockets at Phoenix (11/29/06). A Houston victory tonight would have set the franchise records for largest overall comeback (23 pts. on 1/22/77 vs. Portland), as well as the biggest fourth-quarter comeback (16 pts. on 11/12/87 at Sacramento).
The Lakers tonight set Houston's opponent bests in field goals made (40), assists (27) and points in the paint (48), surpassing the previous highs of 39 field goals made (done twice before), 26 assists by the Timberwolves at Minnesota (12/6/06) and the Spurs' 44 points in the paint vs. San Antonio (11/14/06).
Playing a big part in Houston's comeback tonight was John Lucas, who recorded career highs in points (13), field goals made (5) and rebounds (5). His previous high in points was nine vs. Dallas (1/18/06).
The comeback fell just a little short. Perhaps, the "good Rockets" and the "scrappy Rockets" will show up consistently on the upcoming five-game road trip which begins this Thursday, December 14, versus Golden State.
The "good Rockets" played in the first quarter and led LA 25 to 21 after the game's first 12 minutes. Since the Lakers opted to defend Yao Ming one-on-one, the big fella dominated and scored 12 points in the opening quarter on five of eight shooting from the field.
The "awful Rockets" took over for the next 24 minutes. Though Yao scored nine more points for a total of 21 first half points, the Rockets began to impersonate a sieve on defense and the Lakers rolled up 33 second quarter points -- 20 points came in the paint.
The Lakers took a 54 to 51 lead into halftime.
The third quarter began with a Bonzi Wells sighting for the Rockets; however, Bonzi's showing was far from impressive. He picked up three fouls and two turnovers in five and a half minutes; however, he did get one assists and two rebounds. While he was on the court, Bonzi's defense was porous; and, unfortunately, the rest of the Rockets' defense was non-existent. The Lakers outscored the Rockets 30 to 13 during the third period including 16 straight points. Houston's defense was compounded by 10 third quarter turnovers which helped LA lead 84 to 64 at the end of three quarters.
The "awful Rockets" played a few more minutes in the fourth period and LA took full advantage and boosted the lead to 27 points (93 to 66) with 9:45 remaining in the game. As Rockets' fans began exiting, a strange thing started to take place, the "scrappy Rockets" appeared.
Luther Head, John Lucas III, Steve Novak, Scott Padgett, and Chuck Hayes injected life into Toyota Center and led an amazing comeback thanks to a 26 to 1 run to pull within two points (94 to 92) with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter. In fact, after a missed jump shot by Kobe Bryant and a loose ball foul called on LA's Brian Cook, Rockets' forward Scott Padgett had a chance to tie the game at the foul line. Surprisingly, Padgett, a good free throw shooter, missed both attempts. Those missed shots seemed to drain the energy from the Rockets and their fans. Bryant drove for a lay-up which rimmed out; however, Lakers' center Kwame Brown was credited with tipping in the missed shot. (Replays appeared to show Brown tapped the ball while it was still on the rim which would be offensive basket interference and result in no basket and Rockets ball out of bounds.)
The largest advantage by a Houston opponent this season prior to tonight was a 22-point lead by the Suns over the Rockets at Phoenix (11/29/06). A Houston victory tonight would have set the franchise records for largest overall comeback (23 pts. on 1/22/77 vs. Portland), as well as the biggest fourth-quarter comeback (16 pts. on 11/12/87 at Sacramento).
The Lakers tonight set Houston's opponent bests in field goals made (40), assists (27) and points in the paint (48), surpassing the previous highs of 39 field goals made (done twice before), 26 assists by the Timberwolves at Minnesota (12/6/06) and the Spurs' 44 points in the paint vs. San Antonio (11/14/06).
Playing a big part in Houston's comeback tonight was John Lucas, who recorded career highs in points (13), field goals made (5) and rebounds (5). His previous high in points was nine vs. Dallas (1/18/06).
The comeback fell just a little short. Perhaps, the "good Rockets" and the "scrappy Rockets" will show up consistently on the upcoming five-game road trip which begins this Thursday, December 14, versus Golden State.
posted by Kris G @ 12:01 AM
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