Rockets 111, Warriors 107

When I arrived at Toyota Center tonight, I read this medical advisory:

Rockets guard/forward Tracy McGrady will not play tonight vs. Golden State (1/29/08) due to flu-like symptoms. He is being listed as day-to-day.

For the Rockets' sake, thank goodness Yao Ming recovered from his upper respiratory infection and played Tuesday night versus the Warriors.

Yao was dominant. His 36 points and 19 rebounds helped the Rockets (25-20) hold off a late surge by Golden State and defeat the Warriors 111 to 107.

Luther Head started in McGrady's place and scored 20 points and dished out six assists.

Rafer Alston added 17 points; 12 assists and eight rebounds. However, Rafer is buried so deep in the Rockets' fans' doghouse, many fans moaned and groaned each time Rafer took a shot. Rafer made just seven of 19 from the field; but, his ability to pass the ball to Yao Ming down the stretch of the fourth quarter was huge.

With Luis Scola and Luther Head in the starting line-up, the Rockets started the game great and outscored the Warriors 33 to 18. In fact the Rockets led by 20 (29 to 9) during the open period.

"Without Tracy, we needed to get off to a good start offensive which is why I put Luther in the game and Luis in the game," said Rick Adelman after the game. "We wanted to get of to a good start."

The Warriors' offense started clicking in the second quarter; but, Rafer Alston sank a three-point shot with 0.7 seconds left in the half to send the Rockets to the locker room with a 60 to 46 lead.

Golden State (27-19) made an early push in the third quarter to cut the Rockets' lead to just seven points (64 to 57); but, the Rockets scored seven straight points to push the lead back to 14 (71 to 57) with 6:37 left in the third quarter.

Then, the Warriors used balance scoring to outscore the Rockets 14 to 4 to cut the lead to 75 to 71 with 3:38 in the third.

Instead of folding, the Rockets responded to the challenge. Yao Ming scored five points during an 8-1 run to give the Rockets an 83 to 71 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Rockets' forward Steve Novak started the fourth period by draining two three-point shots and a 21-foot jumper shot to help the Rockets maintain the 12 point lead (94 to 82) with 8:22 left in the ball game.

However, the Warriors made a run which many Rockets' fans feared (and expected to happen).

At the 2:30 mark of the fourth quarter, Baron Davis' three-point shot capped off a 20 to 7 run to give the Warriors a 102 to 101 lead.

Yao Ming went to work and the Rockets efficiently executed the offense down the stretch. Rafer Alston did not take one shot in the final four minutes of the game; but, he got the ball to the big fella.

“It was decent, we had some times where we turned it over, when Yao (Ming) was making the power dribble and they were in there raking at the ball," said Rafer Alston. "But to finishing it off, that was the key. We finished it off by pounding inside and making them have to foul us and go to the free throw line and make some free throws.”

Yao posted up deep; drew fouls; knocked down six straight free throws; scored a 8-foot jump shot and kept the Warriors at bay as the Rockets finished the game with a 10 to 5 scoring burst to come away with the victory.

"Well, we had Yao Ming," said Shane Battier. "That was the difference. The big fellow was awesome tonight. He really put us on his back. He was aggressive and he just played a phenomenal game."

“I thought Yao played much more aggressively, and it seemed like he was pissed off because he hadn’t had success against us and he really showed it,” said Warriors forward Al Harrington.

The Rockets snapped a four-game losing streak to the Warriors with the win tonight.

Jazz 97, Rockets 89

The Rockets scored 30 points in the fourth quarter Sunday night versus the Utah Jazz.

The Rockets (24-20) still lost.

Utah (26-18) scored 37 points in the fourth period and defeated the Rockets 97 to 89 in front of 17,480 fans at Toyota Center.

Yao Ming did not play in the game because of an upper respiratory infection; so, Luis Scola started at center.

Scola finished the game with 18 points (6 for 12 from the field) and six rebounds; but, Scola made just six of his 12 free throw attempts.

Overall, the Rockets shot 9 for 19 (47.4%) from the foul line.

The Rockets trailed the Jazz 41 to 35 at halftime.

"I'm disappointed in the way we started the game again," said Rockets head coach Rick Adelman after the game. "I think both teams were kind of sluggish. They were a little bit better than we were."

Houston improved on offense and defense in the third quarter. The Rockets shot 47.8% (11 for 23) from the field and limited the Jazz to just 5 for 15 (33.3%) from the field.

Rockets second-year forward Steve Novak came off the bench and scored 10 points on perfect 4 for 4 shooting (2 for 2 on threes) in just five minutes and 38 seconds.

"I felt good out there," Novak said. "I made some shots and I think that people have known that I can make shots."

Novak did not take a single shot in the fourth period.

Houston trailed Utah 60 to 59 at the end of the third quarter.

Both teams clicked on offense in the final period -- Utah shot 13 for 18 (72.2%) while Houston shot 11 for 18 (61.1%) -- but, Houston's inability to stop Jazz guard Deron Williams was a huge factor.

With 6:22 remaining in the game, the game was tied at 74; then, the Jazz outscored the Rockets 14 to 3 over the next three minutes and 38 seconds. Williams was involved in all 14 points. He dished out five assists -- two to Korver for three-point baskets -- and drained a 19-foot jump shot.

Williams dished out eight assists in the fourth period; and, many of those assists resulted in teammate Kyle Korver's 13 fourth quarter points.

"Deron took the game over and had a great finish in the fourth quarter," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said after the game. "Deron controlled the game in the fourth quarter. We stuck together and won the ball game and that is the most important thing."

"Houston made their run and it was a little scary for us," Deron Williams said. "But, Kyle (Korver) came in and hit some big shots. It was rough the first three quarters and it was definitely a defensive game as we expected."

Tracy McGrady led all scorers with 21 points (10 for 24 from the field). Scola scored 18; Shane Battier scored 15 points; and Steve Novak added 10.

Three Jazz players each scored 17 points: Williams; Andrei Kirilenko; and Korver. Carlos Boozer struggled from the field (4 for 14); but, he scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

"They were a little bit better than we were," Adelman concluded. "The third quarter we finally got some energy and made some shots and got it going, but it didn't stop them in the 4th quarter. They had 37 points on us, they got going, they're a good team, they played together and moved the ball, they found a way to win. It's just disappointing the way we started."

"This was an important game for us considering this team (Utah) is ahead of us and we only play them 3 times this year," Tracy McGrady said. "So we're even now, 1-1. I just felt like if it came down to the end, based on the 2 of us with equal records, this was one of those games we had to win."

JY wins by 100!

I no longer focus on boys hoops; but, I do want to acknowledge this news I received from Jim Hicks of RCS Sports:

SATURDAY, JAN 26th:
WOW! HOUSTON YATES 133, HOUSTON AUSTIN 33.

Y: Brandon Peters 29, Marshall Lange 23, Xavier Roberson 18, Joseph Young 17, Eric Law 14, EJ Kirby 12, Richard Dora 11.

A: Dewayne Hopkins 10

NOTES: Despite four key players missing, including starters Anthony Jones and Darius Gardner (both testing), Yates was clicking on all cylinders. The Lions scored 43 points in the first period and never looked back against the very over matched Austin Mustangs. There were seven players who scored double figures led by sophomore sensation Brandon “Snap” Peters (29pts) who nearly outscored Austin HS all by himself. Fellow tenth graders Marshall Lange and Joseph Young (son of Phi Slamma Jamma's Michael Young) combined to score 40pts in the win.

Any thoughts? Is a 100-point victory a good thing? Should JY head coach Greg Wise have "pulled in the reins"? Or should Austin simply learn from the loss and try to get better?

Hunter to coach w/o Shoes

I know the Rockets won in Seattle last night (109 to 107); however, I want to acknowledge Ron Hunter for what he's done and what he'll do tonight.

Tonight versus Oakland University, Coach Hunter, who is the head coach at IUPUI, is going to coach barefoot.

Yep, that's right, barefoot.

Why?

Check out this article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkc/men/5480817.html

Here's a link to Samaritan's Feet: http://www.samaritansfeet.org/

Positivity needs to be shared and encouraged.


UPDATE: Coach Hunter and his IUPUI team defeated Oakland 82 to 69 Thursday night.

Rockets 96, Sonics 89

Monday afternoon, the Rockets celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a 96 to 89 win over the Seattle Supersonics.

Yao Ming led all players with 30 points and 17 rebounds.

For the second straight game, Tracy McGrady came off the bench. T-Mac added 17 points; six rebounds; and five assists. However, McGrady said his left knee bothered him a great deal.

"Today was really bad. Not only was I tight but I was also feeling pain in my knee. It's going to be that way because I can't rest to let it heal all the way up. It's just something I'm going to have to tolerate. It was good to see that I played more minutes tonight. I stayed out there for a good portion of the third quarter when I was really tired."

Houston (22-19) led 53 to 52 at the half; but, Seattle (9-32) began the third quarter with a 7 to 2 which was capped off by a 3-point shot by rookie Kevin Durant. (Durant finished the game with just 12 points on 4 for 13 shooting from the field.)

"I want to keep being aggressive and go to the basket stronger," Durant said. "I'm trying to be more of a ball handler and work on the pick-and-roll plays. Every level has been difficult for me to adjust to at the beginning. I don't think there is any pressure, I just try and have fun and keep learning and try and progress."

The Rockets answered with a 12 - 2 run to lead 68 to 61 with 5:03 left in the third quarter. Houston stretched the lead to 77 to 65 before Seattle's Wally Szczerbiak swished a three-pointer to end the third quarter.

After leading by as many as 13 points (81 to 68) in the fourth quarter, the Rockets' offense went stagnant and the Sonics inched closer and closer.

Szczerbiak swished a wide open three-point shot to pull the Sonics within four points (89 to 85) with 1:50 left in the game.

However, Yao Ming drained two free throws and Sonics rookie forward Jeff Green missed two free throws and Szczerbiak missed two three-point shots before McGrady hit two free throws to put the Rockets ahead 93 to 85 to put the game away.

Once again, the Rockets didn't play well in the fourth quarter; but, they did enough to win the ball game.

"It's good to get the win. I just didn't think we played very well," said Rick Adelman. "We talked about how they pushed the ball and they hurt us in transitions. We just did enough to win the game but we have to play a lot better than that if we are going to win in Seattle."

Rockets Top Spurs by 2

Saturday night, the Houston Rockets picked up a big win, 83 to 81, over the San Antonio Spurs before 18,353 screaming fans.

While the game had an exciting ending, it was not a thing of beauty.

Houston finished the game making 32 of their 83 shots (38.6%); however, the Rockets made just 12 of their free throws -- including three attempts (out of 4) by Yao Ming and Rafer Alston which could have iced the ball game in the final seconds.

"I was disappointed in myself especially after he (Yao Ming) missed two," said Rafer Alston after the game. "I just knew I was going to make two."

San Antonio shot 45.1% (32 for 71) from the field but only 11 of 19 from the foul line.

"Clockwork", aka Tim Duncan, finished the game with 24 points and 17 rebounds. Manu Ginobli scored 21 points off the bench for the Spurs. Tony Parker added 16 points and four assists.

Yao Ming scored 21 points to lead the Rockets while Rafer Alston added 16 points and 6 assists. Yao also pulled down 14 rebounds.

The Rockets' bench scored 30 points. Tracy McGrady came off the bench and scored nine points to lead the unit. Saturday's game was T-Mac's first game action since December 28th. Rookie forward Carl Landry scored seven points (3 for 4 from the field). All three made shots were slam dunks. Landry also grabbed five boards.

"He gave us a lift. The way he's playing -- his hustle; his energy," said Alston about Landry's game. "I think tonight we fed off that. He was getting so many offensive rebounds and putbacks. He was finishing with a ferocious dunk. We're going to need his energy and effort.

Luis Scola scored six points, pulled down six boards; and provided some much needed toughness and energy.

"Luis was Luis. He's been that way all season for us. One thing he's going to give us is hustle plays. He takes big charges. He continues to make big plays for us that don't show up in the stat sheet."

The Rockets led 45 to 39 at halftime; however, the offense went stale in the third quarter and the team made only 7 of 20 shots from the field.

In the fourth quarter, Landry split two free throws to put the Rockets ahead 75 to 68 with 7:53 remaining. Duncan and Parker each scored four points during a quick 8 - 0 Spurs' run to take a 76-75 lead with 4:59 left in the ball game.

Scola tied the game with one made free throw. Then, Alston and Yao Ming scored to give the Rockets a four point lead (80 to 76) with 3:11 to go in the game.

Ginobli drained a three-point shot; but, Yao Ming scored again. Duncan answered with a lay-up to trim Houston's lead to 82-81 with 1:47 remaining.

The Rockets missed three jump shots and three free throws in the final 1:47; however, the Spurs were unable to capitalize. San Antonio forward Matt Bonner missed an 11-foot jump shot as the game clock expired.

Though the win was nice, Alston acknowledged the team needs to build from the victory.

"It's huge. We have to build from this. We can't beat a team like the Spurs then drop another one to Seattle."

Sixers Rally to Top Rockets

Tuesday night the Rockets came from ahead and lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 111 to 107 before 13,428 fans at Toyota Center.

The Sixers scored 37 points in the fourth quarter as the Rockets completely fell apart on offense and defense. Houston's pick-and-roll defense was awful; and, when that wasn't failing, the Rockets' guards could not stop their counterparts from penetrating into the paint and either scoring or passing to open teammates for easy shots.

The Rockets committed nine turnovers in the fourth period and many of them came on entry pass attempts into Yao Ming. Philadelphia converted those turnovers into 12 fastbreak points.

In addition to the turnovers, the Rockets shot 28.6% (6 for 21) in the final stanza. Conversely,the Sixers shot 54.5% (12 for 22) in the fourth.

Philadelphia's quick line-up of Andre Miller at point; Louis Miller at two guard; Andre Iguodala at small forward; and Thaddeus Young at power forward gave the Rockets fits with their long arms, active hands; and quick feet. With Samuel Dalembert or Calvin Booth fronting Yao Ming in the post, the Rockets' offense stalled completely.

Leading 91 to 81 after two made free throws by Aaron Brooks, the Rockets were outscored by the Sixers 15 to 1 in three minutes and 12 seconds.

The Rockets regained the lead 99 to 98 then increased the lead to three after a 7-foot jump shot by Rafer Alston. However, Andre Miller pump faked Alston; drew a foul; and made two free throws to trim the Houston's lead to 101 to 100 with 3:25 remaining in the game.

Shane Battier's attempted entry pass to Yao Ming was stolen by Iguodala; and Dalembert converted the turnover into one for two from the free throw line to tie the game at 101 with 3:07 to go in the game.

Dalembert gave the Sixers a two point lead with a putback slam dunk; then, Miller drained an 11-foot shot to increase Philly's lead to 105 to 101 with 1:38 remaining.

Rafer Alston nailed a three-point shot to pull the Rockets within one point; however, Iguodala dished an alley-oop pass to Dalembert for slam / lay-up to put Philly ahead 107 to 104 with just 35.1 seconds remaining.

Yao Ming missed a jump hook; and, Luis Scola's putback attempt was blocked by Dalembert. Iguodala rebounded the missed shot; and hit two free throws to make the score 109 to 104 Sixers with 16.6 seconds left in the ball game.

After two missed three-point tries, Alston hit a three-pointer with just 1.1 second remaining to pull the Rockets within two; however, Iguodala nailed two more free throws for the final score.

Sixers 111, Rockets 107.

Miller led six Sixers in double-figures with 26 points. He also dished out six assists. Yao Ming (8 for 11 from the field and 9 for 10 from the foul line) led five Rockets in double digits with 25 points. Rafer Alston (7 for 17 from the field) added 20 points; but, Alston also committed a game-high six turnovers -- including three TOs in the fourth quarter.

Luther Head scored 16 points and dished out a season-high seven assists. However after shooting 6 for 12 from the field in the first half, Head missed all eight of his shot attempts in the second half.

Coogs vs Zona

The 11 and 2 Houston Cougars host the Arizona Wildcats this at 2pm today at the HOF.

The game is important (some might say a "must win") for the Coogs to enhance their chances to earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament.

However, a special tribute will take place to a very great man, Coach Guy V. Lewis, at halftime.

The University of Houston will honor former UH coach Guy V. Lewis in a special halftime ceremony this Saturday when the Cougars play host to Arizona at 2:00 p.m. on the Guy V. Lewis Court in Hofheinz Pavilion.

A name synonymous with Cougar basketball, Lewis was an integral part of the success Houston enjoyed throughout his career as both a player and coach from 1946-1986. He was the team captain of Houston's first two Lone Star Conference championship teams, and after serving three seasons as an assistant coach, was named UH's second head basketball coach in 1956.

During the next 30 seasons, Lewis recorded 592 wins and led the Cougars to five NCAA Final Four appearances, 14 NCAA Tournaments and four Southwest Conference Postseason Classic titles. He also guided Houston to the 1977 NIT Championship game and produced 11 first round selections in the NBA Draft and 29 NBA Draft selections overall.

Last fall, Coach Lewis received national recognition from the National Association of Basketball Coaches when he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

One of my proudest moments I've ever enjoyed was speaking with Coach Lewis (after a game) and asking him whom he thought was a better high school player -- Eddie Owens or Rob Williams? (Coach said Rob Williams.) Our talk was short; but, I'll never forget it.

Rollin' Rockets

I know I haven't written much lately about the Rockets; but, that's the problem when you're a one person show trying to cover more than one hoops team.

Friday's night BIG blowout win (113 to 82) over the truly abysmal Minnesota Timberwolves was the fifth straight win for the Rockets.

The offense is running efficiently. More players are involved.

T-Mac addresses the notion the Rockets are better without him in this article by the Houston Chronicle's Jerome Solomon.

McGrady can laugh off the trade rumors; but, if the Rockets ever receive an offer from a team which would make the Rockets better, T-Mac would be gone in a heartbeat. Of course, the chances a team makes such an offer to the Rockets are fairly slim -- especially considering that T-Mac is injury prone.

Five straight wins. All this winning -- without Tracy McGrady (and Steve Francis).

No more "We want Steve" chants from Rockets fans either. It's funny what a few weeks of Aaron Brooks playing well and a few wins can do isn't it?