Rockets' Streak Hits 21
The Houston Rockets defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 89 to 80 Friday night in front of a sold-out Toyota Center. The win is Houston's 21st straight victory and the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.
Tracy McGrady played all 48 minutes and scored a game-high 30 points (12 for 25 from the field).
Rafer Alston added 17 points. Luis Scola added 13 points while Shane Battier and forward Mike Harris scored 12 points each. Harris scored 10 points in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Rockets began the game well and led by as many as nine points (17 to 8) in the first period. After leading 18 to 12, the Rockets went into a scoreless drought seven minutes and 41 seconds. The Rockets missed 11 straight field goals. McGrady ended the drought with an alley-oop dunk. During the drought, Charlotte (24 - 41) went on a 17 to 0 run. The Bobcats extended the run to 21 to 2 and led 33 to 20 with 7:02 left in the second period.
To their credit, the Rockets ended the quarter with a 16 to 10 burst to trail by just seven (43 to 36) at halftime. Houston made just 15 of 44 (34.1%) from the field in the first half.
Luis Scola's defense sparked the Rockets in the third quarter. Scola stripped the ball from Bobcats' guard Raymond Felton at halfcourt and picked up the ball; dribbled up the court; scored a lay-up and picked up a foul on Felton for an 'And-1'. Scola made the free throw. Scola scored nine points in the third quarter to help the Rockets to a 62 to 54 lead with 3:55 left in the third stanza.
"We started (the game) playing bad and they were playing really hard" Scoa said. "We struggled a little bit at the beginning with our offense, but we stayed with it, we kept fighting and we kept playing hard. We know there are going to be nights like this where you don't hit any of those shots. We just have to fight and play defense and believe, which we did."
The Bobcats finished the quarter with an 8 to 2 run to trim the Rockets lead to just two points (64 to 62) heading to the fourth period.
Mike Harris keyed a 13 to 2 Rockets run to start the fourth period. Harris scored eight points during the run -- four on assists from Tracy McGrady.
The Rockets led 85 to 71 before the Bobcats trimmed the lead to nine points with 2:57 left in the game. With less than one minute remaining in the game, Dikembe Mutombo blocked two dunk attempts by Bobcats' forward Emeka Okafor which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
"This was a game where this team really tested our will," said Tracy McGrady. "This was a great test for us to see how mentally strong we really are. They (Charlotte) brought their "A" game, they played well, they executed their offense, they were running out on us.We didn't make shots in the 1st half, but I think in the 2nd half, we really came out focused, we knocked down some shots, we tightened up on the defensive end and we got ourselves going. Once we got into it, we didn't look back. That team (Charlotte) fought hard and even when we led by like 13, they would cut it to 8."
Win number 21 in a row was in the books.
The Rockets (45 - 20) are now tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the top spot in the Western Conference. The two teams square off Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm. The game will be shown on ABC.
Tracy McGrady played all 48 minutes and scored a game-high 30 points (12 for 25 from the field).
Rafer Alston added 17 points. Luis Scola added 13 points while Shane Battier and forward Mike Harris scored 12 points each. Harris scored 10 points in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Rockets began the game well and led by as many as nine points (17 to 8) in the first period. After leading 18 to 12, the Rockets went into a scoreless drought seven minutes and 41 seconds. The Rockets missed 11 straight field goals. McGrady ended the drought with an alley-oop dunk. During the drought, Charlotte (24 - 41) went on a 17 to 0 run. The Bobcats extended the run to 21 to 2 and led 33 to 20 with 7:02 left in the second period.
To their credit, the Rockets ended the quarter with a 16 to 10 burst to trail by just seven (43 to 36) at halftime. Houston made just 15 of 44 (34.1%) from the field in the first half.
Luis Scola's defense sparked the Rockets in the third quarter. Scola stripped the ball from Bobcats' guard Raymond Felton at halfcourt and picked up the ball; dribbled up the court; scored a lay-up and picked up a foul on Felton for an 'And-1'. Scola made the free throw. Scola scored nine points in the third quarter to help the Rockets to a 62 to 54 lead with 3:55 left in the third stanza.
"We started (the game) playing bad and they were playing really hard" Scoa said. "We struggled a little bit at the beginning with our offense, but we stayed with it, we kept fighting and we kept playing hard. We know there are going to be nights like this where you don't hit any of those shots. We just have to fight and play defense and believe, which we did."
The Bobcats finished the quarter with an 8 to 2 run to trim the Rockets lead to just two points (64 to 62) heading to the fourth period.
Mike Harris keyed a 13 to 2 Rockets run to start the fourth period. Harris scored eight points during the run -- four on assists from Tracy McGrady.
The Rockets led 85 to 71 before the Bobcats trimmed the lead to nine points with 2:57 left in the game. With less than one minute remaining in the game, Dikembe Mutombo blocked two dunk attempts by Bobcats' forward Emeka Okafor which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
"This was a game where this team really tested our will," said Tracy McGrady. "This was a great test for us to see how mentally strong we really are. They (Charlotte) brought their "A" game, they played well, they executed their offense, they were running out on us.We didn't make shots in the 1st half, but I think in the 2nd half, we really came out focused, we knocked down some shots, we tightened up on the defensive end and we got ourselves going. Once we got into it, we didn't look back. That team (Charlotte) fought hard and even when we led by like 13, they would cut it to 8."
Win number 21 in a row was in the books.
The Rockets (45 - 20) are now tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the top spot in the Western Conference. The two teams square off Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm. The game will be shown on ABC.
posted by Kris Gardner @ 10:37 PM
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