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Thursday October 30, 2008 0:47 AM

Rockets Get Defensive in 82-71 Win Over Grizz


Shut-down defense in the fourth quarter keys opening night victory

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

HOUSTON - For months, the primary storyline surrounding the Rockets has focused on new faces and the great expectations they bring.

And while Ron Artest (16 points, 3 steals) certainly did not disappoint in his Rockets' debut, it was the club's old but reliable calling card of tough, hard-nosed defense which sent the fans home happy after an 82-71 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Rockets's strong defensive effort helped make up for an offense that never quite found its rhythm after a 26-point first quarter. For the game, Houston shot 36.8% from the field, missed a plethora of open looks throughout and recorded only five assists in the final three quarters.

"I don’t know what to chalk it up to," said coach Rick Adelman after the game. "We just have to be better than that. I think Brent [Barry] said it best: we didn’t have the energy throughout the game. We started out fine, but we kind of got lulled into playing a very slow-paced game with not much activity – offensively especially."

"It was kind of disturbing," concurred Rafer Alston. "We were a little bit [ragged] out there and it kind of brought the energy down. The bad thing is, we were doing fine working on it all week. Again, I think I said it a couple of days ago, I think it is always good to see how you go up against an opponent instead of your teammate in training camp."

The Rockets actually came flying out of the gate, scoring the game's first seven points thanks to the quick hands of Artest, who keyed the run with a pair of steals on back-to-back possessions in the game's opening minute. But the pace of the contest slowed considerably soon after and the young Grizzlies seemed to draw confidence from the fact they were able to keep the Rockets within striking distance.

Memphis finally surged ahead early in the fourth quarter on a dunk from rookie Darrell Arthur, giving the Grizzlies a 61-60 lead. But Houston's swarming defense took over from there, as the Rockets closed out the game on a 22-10 run with Rafer Alston providing the three-point dagger with 37 seconds remaining.

So while the gameplay didn't rate high on the aesthetically pleasing chart, Yao Ming was quick to provide perspective by focusing on the only thing that really matters.

"We have to think about it this way," philosophized Yao, who finished with a team-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. "A win is a win and now we're going to look for a second one. We know what we need to do better from this game."

Tracy McGrady (16 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) chose to look at the bright side, too:

"I'm actually glad this game was pretty close so we won't get ahead of ourselves and believe that we have arrived and clicked. We've still got our work cut out for us. I'll take any win but we still have a long way to go."

Notes & Quotes

ROCKETS COACH RICK ADELMAN

(on the intensity of the game) "You have to sustain it. You can get home court advantage but it’s only going to be there if you give your crowd something to yell about, and we only did that in spurts."

(on the size of the Grizzlies front court) "We talked about it, we actually got some really good looks, we just didn't make anything until the end. We knew they were really going to really pound it in, we knew they were longer than we were, but I was disappointed we didn't rebound the way we should have and we let their length bother us there. They got a lot of loose balls to keep themselves in the game and we give them credit for that, but we just have to play much better than that."

LUTHER HEAD

(on the win) "It looked like it was the first game of the season. We know we can't play like that to beat the really, really good teams. Not to say that Memphis is a bad team but we have got to play better if we plan on doing what we all feel like we can do. "

(on Dallas) "It's going to take more of what we showed tonight. More energy, more discipline. Everyone has so much intentions on doing their thing that it took away from our offense. We've gotta come and play more together and work with the offense and trust the offense."

RAFER ALSTON

(on the game) "Pretty off night shooting early. I knew the ball was going to come back out at some point, going through to Tracy, Ron or Yao down late. I knew they would come off of me. I just wanted to stay ready and stay on the shot."

TRACY MCGRADY

(on the game) "We have to make shots. We executed. We had wide open shots and we just didn't make them. We had a bad night offensively. Defensively, we had a pretty good night. It was pretty solid all across the board."

RON ARTEST

(on the win despite struggles) "Tonight was one of those nights where we didn't play well offensively and that's a good sign that we didn't let it affect our defense. At times we played bad on defense in terms of boxing out but for the most part, we played well defensively. You're going to have games where you play great and you also have games where you play bad but you get the win. It was ugly but we will take it. There are going to be good games and bad games. Yao missed some easy shots that he normally doesn't miss and Mac missed a couple of jumpers that he normally doesn't miss."

(on his role on the team) "Just play basketball and play to win. I've been in this league a long time and you have to play unselfishly and when you have goals, you really don't have time to role play."

YAO MING

(on the offensive struggle) "I think with the opening night, everyone wants to come out strong. They ( Memphis) really came in prepared and ready to play against us."

LUIS SCOLA

(on the win) " It was kind of like an ugly game but we won and a win is a win. We struggled offensively in the second quarter. I think we played good defense despite a few moments. We've got to get a lot better. I feel like we've got a lot of work to do. We are not there yet but that's a good thing because we're not supposed to be there now. We've got to keep working."

(on his role) "Coach (adelman) is doing a great job for our team. Whatever he thinks is best for the team then so be it. I am happy to do whatever I have to do. If I have to sit on the bench then I will and if I play, then even better."

GRIZZLIES COACH MARC IAVARONI

(on was his team nervous to start the game?) “There is no question we were and I wasn't surprised. After a few minutes we got loose ad we bounced back.”

(on his team's 3-point shooting) “We got some good looks but 0-13 is not going to be typical of what this team is capable of. If a couple of those three's went in, we could have had a chance to win.”

(on Marc Gasol's play) “Marc Gasol did a great job especially on defending Yao and he also made a couple of big J's.”

(on team's play) “We are going to be a slower team and we don't have the fire-power to score in the transition game.”

RUDY GAY

(on the game) “We took some big strides but down the stretch we didn't execute. We will learn from this. It was a little sloppy. They made shots and we didn't. We were scrappy and that is what we need to do to be successful.”

MARC GASOL

(on the game) “We were s close with 3 or 4 minutes left in the game. They played smarter and played better down the stretch to beat us. Our bench did a good job. We didn't start the game well and the bench came in and gave us a big lift.”

(on his first NBA game) “All the rookie butterflies go away very quickly. I am a rookie but I know more than most rookies because of international experience.”

MICHAEL CONLEY

(on the game) “It came down to execution and we made some turnovers down the stretch. The big key was they made shots and we didn't. We just couldn't make our 3's and if we had the game could have been different.”

(on team's play) “We made some strides and it was good to see our fight and how well we played to the end.”

DARRELL ARTHUR

(on first NBA game) “I was nervous starting off and then the jitters went away. I thought I played pretty good when I was out there and because of that I got to play starter minutes.”

Notes

Tonight’s attendance of 18,196 vs. Memphis marks Houston’s 17th consecutive sellout at Toyota Center, as the Rockets sold out all of their final 13 home outings (2/29/08-4/16/08) of the 2007-08 regular season and all three home contests during the 2008 NBA Playoffs (4/19/08-4/29/08). The streak stands as the most consecutive sellouts ever at Toyota Center (including playoffs). Houston strung together 14 straight sellouts (4/6/07-11/24/07) to set the previous high, which included all four 2007 NBA Playoff games.

With an 82-71 win tonight, the Rockets moved to 22-20 (.524) in opening contests to a season. Houston is now 14-5 (.737) to open a campaign at home, including a 13-2 mark over the past 15 opening nights at home.

Dating back to the 2007-08 regular season, the Rockets have won their last six home games (3/24/08-10/29/08).

The Rockets picked up where they left off last season, limiting the Grizzlies to just 71 points on 31-of-81 (.383) from the field, including 0-of-13 from beyond the arc. Houston held its opponents to 89.9 points per game (3,687 TP) over 41 outings at Toyota Center last season. The 71 points are the fewest scored by Memphis in the history of the Rockets-Grizzlies series (prev. low: 74 on 2/27/99), while the 0-for-13 night tied for the second most 3-point attempts without a make by a Houston opponent (0-14 3FG by Philadelphia on 2/22/88; 0-13 3FG by Cleveland on 10/31/97).

Yao Ming had 21 points (9-9 FT), 10 rebounds and one blocked shot tonight. Yao has now notched a double-double to open the season three times in his career (22 points and 10 rebounds 11/2/05 vs. Sacramento ; 25 points and 12 rebounds on 10/30/07 at L.A. Lakers).

Ron Artest made his Rockets debut with a pair of steals on back-to-back Memphis possessions in the first minute of tonight’s contest. Artest, who registered 16 points, three steals and one block tonight, was one of only six players in the NBA to average at least 20 points and two or more steals per game in 2007-08.

Tracy McGrady recorded 16 points, a game-high five assists and three steals tonight. McGrady had three or more steals in a game just four times last season, including a 2007-08 season-high four vs. Orlando (12/19/07).

Luis Scola finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds tonight. Dating back to 2007-08, Scola has a double-double in each of his last three regular season games.

Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 20 points tonight. His best game against the Rockets in 2007-08 was a 17-point, 10-rebound performances at Houston (12/5/07).

Darrell Arthur pulled down 15 rebounds and scored 11 points in his NBA debut. Marc Gasol, who was also playing in his first regular season NBA game, had 12 points and 12 boards. Bryant Reeves holds Memphis ’ rookie record for rebounds in a game with 18 vs. Orlando (3/15/96).

The Rockets had approximately 1,000 painted faces in the crowd tonight to help the team in their efforts to set a Guinness World Record for “Most Painted Faces at a Single Event.”

Have a question for Rockets.com? Send it to Jason Friedman via email at: jasonf@rocketball.com.