Rockets Win 18th Straight
The beat goes on. The beat goes on.
The Houston Rockets defeated the New Orleans Hornets 106 to 96 Saturday night to extend their franchise record of consecutive victories to 18. The ten point win is also the ninth straight double-digit victory for the red-hot Rockets.
With the win, the Rockets tie the Hornets with 42-20 records; but, since the Rockets own a 2 to 1 advantage in head-to-head match-ups this season, the Rockets move up to the third spot in the Western Conference for the playoffs.
Tracy McGrady played the entire game; and, he was sensational. T-Mac scored a game-high 41 points (17 for 27 from the field); dished out nine assists; and six rebounds.
"I understood how big this game was," said T-Mac after the game. He (Coach Adelman) told us at the end of shoot-around that if we were to win this game, it would move us to the 3rd spot and I told him that there was extra motivation right there. I was just ready to go."
Rafer Alston added 20 points.
Hornets' guard Chris Paul scored 37 points and dished out 11 assists.
New Orleans led Houston 23 to 20 at the end of the first quarter; and, then, the fireworks begin in the second stanza.
The Hornets made eight field goals in the second period and seven of them were three-pointers (7 for 12).
The Rockets were even hotter from the Land of Three. The Rockets banged in nine three pointers in the quarter on 13 attempts. McGrady, Alston, Steve Novak and Luther Head each made two three-point shots in the period. Shane Battier added the other three-point bucket.
The Rockets (9-17 3FG) and Hornets (9-15 3FG) combined for 18 3-pointers in the first half of the game, including 16-of-25 combined in the second quarter. Houston 's nine (9-13 3FG) threes from downtown in the second stanza were just two makes off the NBA record of 11 set by Milwaukee vs. Phoenix on March 28, 2006).
The Rockets shot 23 for 42 (54.8%) from the field in the first half. McGrady scored 22 first half points for back-to-back 20-point opening halves.
After the end of the 39 point second quarter, the Rockets led 59 to 46. Despite 27 second-half points from Chris Paul, New Orleans could only get as close as five points (77 to 72 with 1:43 left in the third) in the second half.
"We had Tracy McGrady and it didn't matter what they did," said Rafer Alston. "When they tried doubling him, we were knocking down 3s and if they tried single coverage, then that's a no-no. 41 points tonight for the big fella."
Chuck Hayes led the Rockets in rebounds (9) and steals (3) in tonight's game. Hayes played 29 minutes tonight due to his effectiveness defending Hornets' center Tyson Chandler; and, because Rockets rookie Carl Landry sat out the game due to swelling in his knee.
"Tracy McGrady was just unbelievable! I'm a fan of the way their team is playing," said Chris Paul. "Even though they have won 18 games in a row, they are still playing with a chip on their shoulder. Chuck Hayes did an outstanding job rebounding inside."
The beat goes on for the Houston Rockets.
The Houston Rockets defeated the New Orleans Hornets 106 to 96 Saturday night to extend their franchise record of consecutive victories to 18. The ten point win is also the ninth straight double-digit victory for the red-hot Rockets.
With the win, the Rockets tie the Hornets with 42-20 records; but, since the Rockets own a 2 to 1 advantage in head-to-head match-ups this season, the Rockets move up to the third spot in the Western Conference for the playoffs.
Tracy McGrady played the entire game; and, he was sensational. T-Mac scored a game-high 41 points (17 for 27 from the field); dished out nine assists; and six rebounds.
"I understood how big this game was," said T-Mac after the game. He (Coach Adelman) told us at the end of shoot-around that if we were to win this game, it would move us to the 3rd spot and I told him that there was extra motivation right there. I was just ready to go."
Rafer Alston added 20 points.
Hornets' guard Chris Paul scored 37 points and dished out 11 assists.
New Orleans led Houston 23 to 20 at the end of the first quarter; and, then, the fireworks begin in the second stanza.
The Hornets made eight field goals in the second period and seven of them were three-pointers (7 for 12).
The Rockets were even hotter from the Land of Three. The Rockets banged in nine three pointers in the quarter on 13 attempts. McGrady, Alston, Steve Novak and Luther Head each made two three-point shots in the period. Shane Battier added the other three-point bucket.
The Rockets (9-17 3FG) and Hornets (9-15 3FG) combined for 18 3-pointers in the first half of the game, including 16-of-25 combined in the second quarter. Houston 's nine (9-13 3FG) threes from downtown in the second stanza were just two makes off the NBA record of 11 set by Milwaukee vs. Phoenix on March 28, 2006).
The Rockets shot 23 for 42 (54.8%) from the field in the first half. McGrady scored 22 first half points for back-to-back 20-point opening halves.
After the end of the 39 point second quarter, the Rockets led 59 to 46. Despite 27 second-half points from Chris Paul, New Orleans could only get as close as five points (77 to 72 with 1:43 left in the third) in the second half.
"We had Tracy McGrady and it didn't matter what they did," said Rafer Alston. "When they tried doubling him, we were knocking down 3s and if they tried single coverage, then that's a no-no. 41 points tonight for the big fella."
Chuck Hayes led the Rockets in rebounds (9) and steals (3) in tonight's game. Hayes played 29 minutes tonight due to his effectiveness defending Hornets' center Tyson Chandler; and, because Rockets rookie Carl Landry sat out the game due to swelling in his knee.
"Tracy McGrady was just unbelievable! I'm a fan of the way their team is playing," said Chris Paul. "Even though they have won 18 games in a row, they are still playing with a chip on their shoulder. Chuck Hayes did an outstanding job rebounding inside."
The beat goes on for the Houston Rockets.
posted by Kris Gardner @ 10:20 PM
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