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Rockets pull away for fourth straight win
Houston 89, Portland 79
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
During the first half of the season, the Portland Trail Blazers have surged into playoff contention with the NBA's youngest lineup.
The Blazers, however, aren't the only team in the league with a pretty good collection of young talent.
Behind their own talented trio of rookies, the Rockets pulled away from the Blazers Friday night for a 89-79 victory at the Rose Garden in Portland.
The Rockets (24-19) snapped Portland's 12-game home winning streak and collected their fourth straight win.
Despite coming into the season with a roster filled with veterans, the Rockets once again found themselves relying on their youngest collection of players down the stretch against the Blazers. Houston's three rookies -- Luis Scola, Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks -- netted the Rockets' final 12 points and provided a lift with All-Star center Yao Ming on the bench in foul trouble.
Not that the three rookies were surprised by their own efforts.
"We play well together," Scola said.
How well?
Nearly halfway through the fourth quarter, Yao -- the Rockets' lone All-Star starter -- picked up his fifth foul with Houston clinging to a 72-71 advantage. The center went to the bench and never returned, ending his night with 11 points and 10 rebounds for his 26th double-double of the season. The Rockets responded by turning to Scola and going with a lineup that included all three rookies on the floor together in the fourth quarter. Surprisingly, it was the Blazers that never recovered.
With Brooks attacking the basket and Landry and Scola controlling the glass, the Rockets instantly pulled away with a 10-2 run. Brooks started the spurt by drawing a foul in the lane to get to the free throw line, while Landry capped off the game-determining charge after being fouled on a putback. The rookie power forward sank the free throw to finish the three-point play, giving the Rockets a 82-73 advantage with less than three minutes left in the game. That was the ballgame.
The final numbers for the rookies were impressive. Scola netted 11 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Landry added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Brooks contributed eight points and four assists.
The Rockets' confidence in the three young talents is growing.
"Our young guys really came up big for us," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said.
The Rockets didn't hurt their cause on the defensive end.
Struggling to slow down Brandon Roy and Co. in the first half, the Rockets clamped down on the Blazers at the start of the second half. Houston opened the half with a 14-1 run that erased Portland's eight-point halftime lead. The Blazers missed their first seven shots of the half.
Thanks to Houston's defensive effort, Portland never got any warmer from the field. The Blazers made only 7 of 30 shots and scored a mere 29 points in the second half. After having little trouble finding his shot in the first half, Roy scored only six of his 23 points in the second.
The Blazers -- one of the NBA's best three-point shooting teams -- finished shooting a meager 35.7 percent from the field.
"We really stepped up our defense in the second half," Adelman said.
The Rockets' rookies stepped up, too.
On a night when the Rockets couldn't lean on Yao, the trio made the most of their minutes. Landry and Scola dominated the boards and Brooks once again put pressure on the defense with his speed.
That's what the Rockets are hoping for from their rookies over the remainder of the season.
"We have to be able to win when Tracy and Yao aren't there," Scola said. "Everyone has to help."
