Rockets Give Game to Mavs

The Houston Rockets led the Dallas Mavericks 76 to 64 at the end of the three quarters Wednesday night. A friend / colleague asked me if I thought the Rockets would win the game.

I shook my head and told him, "No. When Tracy McGrady sits, the Mavericks will make a run then win the game down the stretch."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Basically, that is how the fourth quarter unfolded. The Mavs came from behind (or the Rockets came from ahead -- depending on your perspective) and beat the Rockets 100 to 94 before a sold out crowd of 18,143 screaming (and disappointed / upset) fans.

Yao Ming finished the game with 30 points (11 for 18 from the field) and 15 rebounds. Teammate Chuck Hayes scored just two points; but, Hayes pulled down 13 boards and played solid defense on Mavericks' star Dik Nowitzki. Tracy McGrady struggled shooting the ball the entire game (6 for 19 from the field); but, McGrady scored 15 points and dished out 12 assists. Rafer Alston added 18 points (7 for 13 from the field -- 3 for 7 on threes).

Five Mavs scored in double figures -- led by Devin Harris' 22 points. Josh Howard scored 20 points; Nowitzki scored 18 points; Brandon Bass scored 17 off the bench; and, old man Jerry Stackhouse scored 15 points including 11 of the Mavericks final 14 points in the final 69 seconds of the ball game.

The first half was sluggish due to the team's 20 combined turnovers (8 for Dallas and 12 for Houston). The Mavericks led the Rockets 47 to 46 at halftime.

The Rockets tied the game at 49; then, the Rockets outscored the Mavs 25 to 8 over the next nine minutes of the third quarter. However, the Mavericks scored the final five points of the quarter to trail by twelve heading to the fourth.

Avery Johnson, Mavs head coach, went to a small line up much of the fourth quarter. The line up featured Nowtizki at the center spot and Brandon Bass at power forward along with Josh Howard at small forward; Devin Harris at point guard and, either Jason Terry or Jerry Stackhouse at shooting guard. The line up worked right away.

The Mavericks began the quarter with an 8 to 2 run to trim the Rockets' lead to just six points (76 to 70) with 10:27 left in the final quarter. With Nowitzki at center, Yao Ming faced a dilemma on defense because Yao was not quick enough to effective defend Bass or Nowitzki in pick-and-roll situations or any sets which pulled him from the basket.

The Mavs exploited their quickness advantage throughout the fourth period. Bass scored nine points while Devin Harris raced past any Rockets defender and scored 10 points. Harris attacked the basket constantly; and, his speed and quickness simply overwhelmed the Rockets in the fourth quarter.

Nowitzki finally took advantage of his height advantage over 6'6 Chuck Hayes and scored four clutch points to bring the Mavericks within four points (90 to 86) with 2:49 remaining in the game.

In addition to his quickness, Devin Harris assumed the role of tough guy for Dallas as he fouled Tracy McGrady and, late in the game, Yao Ming (flagrant 1 on Yao) at the 1:40 mark of the game. Yao split the two free throws to put the Rockets ahead 91 to 86. The Mavs went to a high pick-and-roll; and, Harris took advantage of poor Rockets' defense to drive to the basket and pass the ball to a wide open Jerry Stackhouse behind the three-point line. Stackhouse calmly swished the three-point shot to trim the Rockets lead to just two points (91 to 89) with 1:09 left in the game.

McGrady turned the ball over with 52.9 seconds; and, Harris raced past Yao Ming (Yao switched onto Harris because of yet another pick-and-roll) and scored a driving layup to tie the game at 91. Harris was fouled by Yao Ming on the play; and, Harris swished the free throw to put Dallas ahead 92 to 91 with only 34.2 seconds remaining.

Time out Rockets.

Houston inbounded the ball; and, McGrady missed an open 22-foot jump shot. (McGrady ran pick-and-roll with Yao Ming; but, Tracy opted for the jump shot instead of attempting a shot closer to the basket.) Stackhouse rebounded the missed shot and was fouled. He sank both free throws to put the Mavs ahead 94 to 91 with 23.2 seconds left.

Time out Rockets.

Yao scored a lay up; and, the Rockets quickly fouled Stackhouse on the inbounds play. Once again, Stackhouse sank both free thows.

Mavs 96, Rockets 93.

For some reason, Devin Harris played tight defense on Mike James, too tight apparently, and Harris was whistled for a foul with 12.1 seconds. James split the two free throws. Stackhouse rebounded the missed shot and was fouled. Swish. Swish.

Mavs 98, Rockets 94.

James raced the ball up the court and air balled a 25-foot jump shot. Stackhouse rebounded the missed shot and dribbled up the court and dunked home a meaningless two points.

Game over.

Houston's defense collapsed in the fourth quarter as the Mavs outscored the Rockets 38 to 20. The bottom line is the Rockets failed to execute on both ends of the court and in the fourth period.

"We were up 17 points," said Tracy McGrady after the game. "With our starters out and the bench in, they cut it to six so quick. We had to go back in. It didn't give us a time to rest. Those guys (the Mavericks) go 10, 11 deep. They have fresh legs in the fourth quarter. We're sitting on the bench trying to get a rest. Our bench didn't give us time to rest. Six point lead. We're trying to come back and stop the bleeding. Therefore, we did a great of executing and pushing the lead back up. We ran out of gas after that."