Rockets Look to Tie Spurs
November 3rd 2007 07:50
After two consecutive road wins against notable western teams, the Houston Rockets will be on their home opener and will be looking to tie the San Antonio Spurs at the top of the Southwest Division at the expense of the struggling Portland Trailblazers.
Houston's first win was against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staple Center. The Rockets led by as much as 14 points heading into the homestretch until Kobe Bryant unloaded 18 points in the 4th quarter to lead a furious rally to tie the game at 92-all with 13 seconds left.
Derek Fisher drained the game tying jumper.
Shane Battier turned out to be the hero when he sank the tie-breaking three with 2.5 seconds left in the game. Battier then fouled Bryant before a shot can be taken leaving 1.3 ticks on the clock. Bryant made the first and intentionally missed the second of his free throws in order to pull off a fast one and tie the game. Too bad that the ball got knocked off his hands as time expired.
So the Rockets escaped with a 95-93 win. Head coach Rick Adelman said that they never finished the game well enough. In their second game, which was played at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz, Tracy McGrady showed how he can do a brilliant finish for his team as he took over at the start of the game's 2nd quarter up to the final buzzer. At the end of the game, McGrady had 47 points on 17 of 27 shooting from the floor and led to stop any attempt of the Jazz to come back and make it close just the way the Lakers did.
Two road games, two wins. Up next, they head to Toyota Center for their season home opening game against the Blazers, a team that is reeling off the ropes after absorbing a 113-93 loss to the New Orleans Hornets. The Blazers previously lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the season's opening night at the AT&T Center.
Brandon Roy improved his performance this time by leading his team in scoring with 23 points after being held to only 7 against the Spurs. It was just so frustrating that LaMarcus Aldridge blew cold with only 8 points to show. It was a far cry from the 27-point output that he made in San Antonio.
The Hornets dropped 11 3-pointers to completely rout the Blazers. Portland head coach Nate McMillan said that they were unable to defend the perimeter as Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic led the dismantling.
Portland will be facing more problems when they face Houston in their upcoming game. The Rockets are a versatile team with plenty of talent on all positions. They can certainly hit their outside shots, they have Yao Ming that can dominate inside and an offensive juggernaut in T-Mac. The best that the Blazers can do now is to find a way for all of the starters to play well enough to stay with the Rockets.
The best thing that the Blazers can do is not to be blown off the way they were against the Hornets but the Rockets won't be letting up and will be keeping their momentum as they head home.
Houston's first win was against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staple Center. The Rockets led by as much as 14 points heading into the homestretch until Kobe Bryant unloaded 18 points in the 4th quarter to lead a furious rally to tie the game at 92-all with 13 seconds left.
Derek Fisher drained the game tying jumper.
T-Mac and the Rocket's are heading home next.
Shane Battier turned out to be the hero when he sank the tie-breaking three with 2.5 seconds left in the game. Battier then fouled Bryant before a shot can be taken leaving 1.3 ticks on the clock. Bryant made the first and intentionally missed the second of his free throws in order to pull off a fast one and tie the game. Too bad that the ball got knocked off his hands as time expired.
So the Rockets escaped with a 95-93 win. Head coach Rick Adelman said that they never finished the game well enough. In their second game, which was played at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz, Tracy McGrady showed how he can do a brilliant finish for his team as he took over at the start of the game's 2nd quarter up to the final buzzer. At the end of the game, McGrady had 47 points on 17 of 27 shooting from the floor and led to stop any attempt of the Jazz to come back and make it close just the way the Lakers did.
Two road games, two wins. Up next, they head to Toyota Center for their season home opening game against the Blazers, a team that is reeling off the ropes after absorbing a 113-93 loss to the New Orleans Hornets. The Blazers previously lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the season's opening night at the AT&T Center.
Brandon Roy improved his performance this time by leading his team in scoring with 23 points after being held to only 7 against the Spurs. It was just so frustrating that LaMarcus Aldridge blew cold with only 8 points to show. It was a far cry from the 27-point output that he made in San Antonio.
The Hornets dropped 11 3-pointers to completely rout the Blazers. Portland head coach Nate McMillan said that they were unable to defend the perimeter as Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic led the dismantling.
Portland will be facing more problems when they face Houston in their upcoming game. The Rockets are a versatile team with plenty of talent on all positions. They can certainly hit their outside shots, they have Yao Ming that can dominate inside and an offensive juggernaut in T-Mac. The best that the Blazers can do now is to find a way for all of the starters to play well enough to stay with the Rockets.
The best thing that the Blazers can do is not to be blown off the way they were against the Hornets but the Rockets won't be letting up and will be keeping their momentum as they head home.
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