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Tuesday March 17, 2009 4:02 AM

Big Win In The Big Easy

Balanced effort leads Yao-less Rockets past Hornets 95-84

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

New Orleans - Silence never sounded so sweet.

No more of the incessant and mind-numbing “Whooos!” which permeate the New Orleans Arena following every Chris Paul contribution (even free throws). No more cheers, jawing, trash talk or whining. By the time the final seconds ticked off the clock Monday night in the Big Easy, the only sound left to be heard was the steady shuffling of fans streaming toward the exits, wondering how on earth their Hornets had just been dominated by a Houston team playing without its best player.

The audible effect was jarring. It was also music to the Rockets’ ears.

Left for dead heading into the Hornets’ nest without Yao Ming who missed the game with flu-like symptoms, Houston overcame the odds and an 11-point second half deficit by storming back in stirring fashion for a 95-84 win. The Rockets required – and received - a total team effort to post one of their season’s signature victories; a win which enabled them to become the first Southwest Division team to prevail on the Hornets’ home floor this season.

“We’re always talking about how far we want to go in the playoffs and how much we want to be a championship contender,” said Luis Scola, who scored 14 points and collected a team-high 12 boards. “Well, these kind of games are just what those kind of teams do. These kind of games are going to put you up there or put you back in the mix. It’s huge.”

Making the win even more impressive was the way the Rockets responded after New Orleans threw an early haymaker to start the second half. The Hornets scored 8 points during the opening 1:38 of the third quarter, stirring their fans into a frenzy and putting Houston on the ropes.

A blowout seemed eminent. The Rockets were down 11, Ron Artest was 0-11 from the field and Chris Paul was at his probing, carving best. But Rick Adelman called a timeout to settle the troops, and Houston responded by ripping off a stunning 23-6 run to turn the tables and take control of the game.

“Sometimes it’s just gut check time,” said Shane Battier who, along with Von Wafer, recorded the highest plus-minus on the team (+14). “We looked at each other in the huddle and said, ‘You know what, it’s time to stop acting like little girls and start playing like professional basketball players.’ And we came out, got a few stops, got it back to our tempo and took away their easy buckets, and just methodically got back in the game. It was a great way to respond after their early burst.”

Houston did it with defense, limiting the Hornets to a measly 9 points during the final 10:22 of the third quarter. And a big part of the effort on that end of the floor was sparked by the presence of the ageless Dikembe Mutombo, who stepped into the starting role in Yao’s absence without missing a beat, despite not having seen live game action since February 22. Mutombo was credited with three blocks and no doubt adversely affected several others, allowing him ample opportunity to show off his trademark finger wag to anyone who dared challenge his defensive instincts which, like his infamous elbows, remain as sharp as ever.

“It’s amazing to me. “I’m a guy who is going to finish in the top-two in NBA shot blocking history and you still see some of these young people coming into the league today who have no respect at all. I might be old, I might be 42, but I still have something left in the tank.

“There all those young kids trying to just come in and find a way to dunk and I asked them one time, ‘Don’t you watch NBA Classics? You need to see it.’”

While Mt. Mutombo was busy patrolling the paint, the Rockets guards had their hands full attempting to slow down Chris Paul. To be sure, CP3 put up his usual eye-popping numbers (29 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 6 steals) but he was held to just 6 points and 2 assists in the fourth quarter, during which Kyle Lowry did most the defensive dirty work.

“I thought Kyle did a really good job on him,” said Adelman. “He was more physical with him and our big guys did a good job of trying to control him – not letting him get to the basket.”

On the offensive end, the Rockets were led by Ron Artest (18 points), who managed to hit 7 of his last 12 shots after his 0-11 start. But balance was really the key, as Houston boasted six players in double digit scoring including Von Wafer, who also displayed a playmaking element to his game by dishing out a career-high five assists.

“I’ve been missing a lot of open guys, so I just sat back, watched film and evaluated what was going on out there,” said Wafer, who scored 8 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. “I just wanted to try to use my scoring to create opportunities for my teammates, that’s all.

“I’m just trying to get better and be aggressive. But I want to be aggressive to create, instead of just creating for myself. Like I said, I was watching a lot of film and I was taking a lot of tough shots and saw a lot of guys wide open. Guys like to play with guys who are going to make the right play, and then they’ll go out of there way to make the right play for you.”

That attitude was certainly contagious Monday night and it allowed the Rockets plenty of time to savor their well-earned reward: An arena filled with nothing but sweet, stunned silence.

Whoooo, indeed.

QUOTES

RICK ADELMAN

It was a huge win. I don’t know what you can say. Our guys played hard the whole game. They jumped on us at the start of the second half and we responded immediately and got back in the game. From that point on, we really controlled the game - defended well, got contributions from lots of different people – just a terrific win.

(on responding after the Hornets early run to start the second half): You just have to stay with it. We talked about it during that timeout: You just have to get stops to get us back in the game. It’s not going to happen in one or two possessions. We were able to kind of creep back in it and then after we caught them it was anybody’s game.

(on the defense): You don’t make adjustments. Chris Paul is a terrific player and you’re going to keep seeing pick-and-rolls as the game goes on. We just kept talking about getting better on the pick-and-rolls and being more efficient. By that I mean he’s going to make plays, but you have to make him work and stay consistent against him. I thought Kyle did a really good job on him, he was more physical with him and our big guys did a good job of trying to control him – not letting him get to the basket.

(on the offense): I think we moved the ball a lot better in the second half. We were attacking them. We said we wanted to get to the basket if we could and I think the guys had a real attitude. Like I said, once we caught them we seemed to really gain confidence. We seemed to really get positive about the way we were playing and I just can’t say enough about the win. It’s a big road win against a team that’s right next to us so anytime you get one of these down the stretch during this part of the season, it’s got to be a big win for you.

(on Dikembe’s play):He never does (surprise). He came out and controlled the paint area. He did a really good job of controlling the basket. He backed up on Paul and made him shoot over him and had some blocks – I thought he was terrific; especially for not playing for a long time. You saw him do that last year. It doesn’t surprise you, although it really does in a lot of ways.

(more playing time for Deke?): We’ll see who we match up with. I think that’s probably the key, so he can match up with who’s out there. It certainly helps us on the court when Yao’s out that he does control the basket area. The one thing about that you have to remember is I knew he was going to play ten minute stretches tonight. But if you’re only going to play him five or six minute stretches, that’s where it’s going to make a difference. Can he still be effective? It’s not like he’s 29 years old. So we’ll just have to see how that goes.

RON ARTEST

That was a tough game. Tough start. But we stayed together and Deke was unbelievable changing some shots. I’m glad he was able to get this far. As you can see, in the playoffs he might become useful. He did a great job tonight protecting the rim. Without him, we probably wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in now. I can’t wait to get Yao back, but other than that, the second unity came in and played well, too.

(attacking the rim with outside shot not falling): My shot’s been falling, so it’s been so easy for me to shoot the ball. But I have to get to the basket sometimes. I need to start driving because there’s nobody in my position who can keep me from getting to the basket, so I need to keep that in mind. I’ve worked on my shot so much and it’s just been falling, but a night like tonight, I should have got to the hole a little earlier.

DIKEMBE MUTOMBO

My driving was alright. There was a little bit of traffic on the autobahn but I was still able to go 100 miles an hour. There all those young kids trying to just come in and find a way to dunk and I asked them one time, “Don’t you watch NBA Classics? You need to see it.”

It was a good win for us. We needed it. We beat a team that’s given us a lot of problems in the past.

(on winning without Yao): It just shows you that many of the guys we have here have big guts. We didn’t approach the game just depending on one person. When one of our soldiers goes down, the rest of us have to pick up and keep fighting.

(on whether he thought some of the Hornets tried to challenge him tonight): Yeah, yeah. I don’t know why. It’s amazing to me. I’m a guy who is going to finish in the top-two in NBA shot blocking history and you still see some of these young people coming into the league today who have no respect at all. I might be old, I might be 42, but I still have something left in the tank. Maybe they didn’t watch the Rockets last year. That’s why.

LUIS SCOLA

It’s huge. These are the kind of games we’re always talking about how far we want to go in the playoffs and how much we want to be a championship contender. Well, these kind of games are just what those kind of teams do. We didn’t have a lot of these this year. Now it’s pretty tight. These kind of games are going to put you up there or put you back in the mix. It’s huge. We have a lot of these coming in the next two weeks and we need to win them.

VON WAFER

I’ve just been watching a lot of film. I’ve been missing a lot of open guys, so I just sat back, watched film and evaluated what was going on out there. I just wanted to try to use my scoring to create opportunities for my teammates, that’s all. I was just trying to do whatever so we could win.

I’m just trying to get better and be aggressive. But I want to be aggressive to create, instead of just creating for myself. Like I said, I was watching a lot of film and I was taking a lot of tough shots and saw a lot of guys wide open. Guys like to play with guys who are going to make the right play, and then they’ll go out of there way to make the right play for you.

KYLE LOWRY

Chris Paul is the best point guard in the NBA. Just getting an opportunity to play against him is very cool for me. But down the stretch our guys stepped up and made big plays. It was definitely a great, great team win.

(on coach trusting him enough to close the game out): It’s huge. It gives everybody confidence in themselves when the coach lets you go out there and finish the game out. (defensive strategy on CP3): You just hope. You just try to contain him and make do things he’s not comfortable doing – which is nothing – but you just try to depend on your teammates to make some blocks for you and hopefully he’ll miss a shot or kick it someone else who will miss a shot. But you just try to make sure you go out there and try to contain him at least a little bit.

SHANE BATTIER

You have a circle the wagons mentality because you know that Yao’s 20 and 10 need to be replaced, and one guy can’t replace him. So everyone has to do their job a little better and be a little sharper – can’t afford the mistakes that you can get away with a little bit when you have an All-Star in the lineup. But that’s been the hallmark of our team. We haven’t complained about who hasn’t been in the lineup. We’ve gone out and done our jobs and we always believe we have a shot at winning if we go out and execute.

(responding after their 8-0 run to start the second half): Sometime it’s just gut check time. We looked at each other in the huddle and said, ‘You know what, it’s time to stop acting like little girls and start playing like professional basketball players.’ And we came out, got a few stops, got it back to our tempo and took away their easy buckets, and just methodically got back in the game. And once you cut a lead like that down to two possessions, you know you’re right back in it, and we got our confidence and just extended the lead. It was a great way to respond after their early burst.

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