Rockets Win Sweet Number 16
The Houston Rockets set a franchise record with their 16th straight victory tonight. The Rockets (40-20) blasted the Indiana Pacers 117 to 99.
"It's history," said Tracy McGrady. "We're going to be in the books for a long, long time. It was a short term goal that we had that we wanted to accomplish and we got it done tonight but it doesn't stop there."
The Pacers (24-37) began the game with Jeff Foster at center; but, 40 seconds into the game, Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien substituted guard Kareem Rush and the Pacers went small moving forward Troy Murphy to the center spot.
The Pacers' quickness made Dikembe Mutombo a non-factor; and, Rick Adelman quickly subbed Luther Head for Mutombo.
"Indiana came out and played really well in the first quarter," said Shane Battier. "It took us a while to figure out their schemes and figure everything out but it was a good win. They're a tough team to defend. It is a little unconventional."
Indiana led 17 to 13 before Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston took control. T-Mac (11) and Alston (10) combined for 21 first-quarter points and helped the Rockets to a 34 to 27 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Rockets' reserves took over the second quarter and raced around and over the Pacers. Led by nine points from Chuck Hayes, the Rockets' bench brigade outscored their Pacers' counterparts 17 to 8 and helped the Rockets to a 66 to 43 lead. The Pacers closed out the quarter with six straight points to trim the Rockets lead to 66 to 49 at halftime.
McGrady finished the first half with 23 points including a 4-for-5 performance from beyond the arc over the first two quarters. It marked McGrady's first 20-point opening half since 21 vs. Denver (11/24/07).
The Pacers started the third quarter on fire and outscored the Rockets 13 to 4 to trim the Rockets' lead to 70 to 62 with 9:04 left in the period.
Luis Scola scored six points during a 9 to 4 Rockets' run to push the Rockets lead to 79 to 66. The Pacers cut the lead to seven points two more times in the quarter; but, the Rockets finished the quarter with a 11 to 2 run to lead 94 to 78 at the end of the third stanza.
Garbage time started with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets have won seven-straight games by double-digits (an average of 17.6 points). The Rockets are kicking so much butt, the games are almost boring to watch.
McGrady led the Rockets with 25 points. Luis Scola scored all of his 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the third quarter, while Luther Head added 14 points (5-5 FG, 4-4 3FG) and Carl Landry scored 13 more (5-10 FG).
Chuck Hayes had a season-high nine points (4-8 FG) and 11 rebounds, as well as matching his career-high in assists with five (five on 12/31/07 vs. Golden State).
"Chuck Hayes was terrific when he came in the game defensively," said head coach Rick Adelman. "He kind of set the tone for us. All the things they were getting, he just established the presence in there and around the basket. He's so smart. He did so many good things, I thought he really changed things up when he came in defensively."
The Rockets head to Dallas for a Thursday night tilt with the Mavericks. Tip-off is set for 8:30pm.
"It's history," said Tracy McGrady. "We're going to be in the books for a long, long time. It was a short term goal that we had that we wanted to accomplish and we got it done tonight but it doesn't stop there."
The Pacers (24-37) began the game with Jeff Foster at center; but, 40 seconds into the game, Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien substituted guard Kareem Rush and the Pacers went small moving forward Troy Murphy to the center spot.
The Pacers' quickness made Dikembe Mutombo a non-factor; and, Rick Adelman quickly subbed Luther Head for Mutombo.
"Indiana came out and played really well in the first quarter," said Shane Battier. "It took us a while to figure out their schemes and figure everything out but it was a good win. They're a tough team to defend. It is a little unconventional."
Indiana led 17 to 13 before Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston took control. T-Mac (11) and Alston (10) combined for 21 first-quarter points and helped the Rockets to a 34 to 27 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Rockets' reserves took over the second quarter and raced around and over the Pacers. Led by nine points from Chuck Hayes, the Rockets' bench brigade outscored their Pacers' counterparts 17 to 8 and helped the Rockets to a 66 to 43 lead. The Pacers closed out the quarter with six straight points to trim the Rockets lead to 66 to 49 at halftime.
McGrady finished the first half with 23 points including a 4-for-5 performance from beyond the arc over the first two quarters. It marked McGrady's first 20-point opening half since 21 vs. Denver (11/24/07).
The Pacers started the third quarter on fire and outscored the Rockets 13 to 4 to trim the Rockets' lead to 70 to 62 with 9:04 left in the period.
Luis Scola scored six points during a 9 to 4 Rockets' run to push the Rockets lead to 79 to 66. The Pacers cut the lead to seven points two more times in the quarter; but, the Rockets finished the quarter with a 11 to 2 run to lead 94 to 78 at the end of the third stanza.
Garbage time started with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets have won seven-straight games by double-digits (an average of 17.6 points). The Rockets are kicking so much butt, the games are almost boring to watch.
McGrady led the Rockets with 25 points. Luis Scola scored all of his 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the third quarter, while Luther Head added 14 points (5-5 FG, 4-4 3FG) and Carl Landry scored 13 more (5-10 FG).
Chuck Hayes had a season-high nine points (4-8 FG) and 11 rebounds, as well as matching his career-high in assists with five (five on 12/31/07 vs. Golden State).
"Chuck Hayes was terrific when he came in the game defensively," said head coach Rick Adelman. "He kind of set the tone for us. All the things they were getting, he just established the presence in there and around the basket. He's so smart. He did so many good things, I thought he really changed things up when he came in defensively."
The Rockets head to Dallas for a Thursday night tilt with the Mavericks. Tip-off is set for 8:30pm.
posted by Kris G @ 10:39 PM
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