Print
Sunday February 22, 2009 9:09 PM

Second-half Surge Carries Rockets Past Bobcats

Houston goes wire-to-wire in 99-78 win

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - Rick Adelman often refers to Yao Ming as the anchor of the Rockets’ offense. So following a second quarter funk which saw Houston momentarily lose its way offensively, the Rockets’ coach need only have delivered one message to his charges at halftime: “Anchors away.”

Using their All-Star center to repeatedly bludgeon the Bobcats in the third quarter, the Rockets turned a close contest into a laugher, cruising past Charlotte 99-78. Yao was the focal point of Houston’s second-half surge, scoring 10 points during the pivotal stretch which saw the Rockets expand their lead from two to 17.

And with Yao taking care of business inside, Houston’s three-point brigade handled the rest, knocking down 13-of-27 from beyond the arc. Ron Artest especially was deadly, draining a career-high trying five treys on his way to scoring a game-high 26 points.

“[Yao] is such a great player and he's such a big part of what we do,” said Luis Scola, who notched his fourth consecutive double-double by collecting 12 points and 10 rebounds. “Against any team, it seems like it is a mismatch. They can go one-on-one [against Yao] and if they do that, he will kill them and if they want to double-team him, he is just finding people. There are a lot of open shots when that happens. That's a huge decision that the other team has to make.”

As good as Yao, Artest and the rest of the Rockets were offensively however, everyone was quick to point out that the team's defensive effort was the real key to the game – and to the club’s recent turnaround. Houston limited the Bobcats to just 36 percent shooting from the field on their way to holding their fourth straight opponent below the 90-point threshold.

“I want to see us have that mental attitude to go out and make them work for everything they get,” said Adelman. “I think everybody on the floor is tuned in to what we have to do. Aaron [Brooks] did a nice job tonight of fighting through the pick-and-rolls. Hopefully we’re going to sustain it and get better consistently. We’ve been good in spurts, but we haven’t been good consistently and we just have to keep working at it until we get there.”

The win is Houston’s fourth in a row and elevates the club to a season-high 14 games over .500. No one is going overboard in their euphoria just yet – this is, after all, a very even-keeled team – but there is definitely a sense in the locker room that the Rockets have turned a corner and finally found the chemistry and consistency for which they’ve been searching all year.

“I feel that,” says Yao. “This is our second four-game winning streak during the season and we want to keep rolling. But that can fall (apart) pretty quick if you’re not prepared or ready for the next game. I think my teammates understand that we have enough this season. We need to keep the same intensity we had in the game today and the past couple games, and I trust myself and my teammates to do that.”

And it’s not just the denizens of the Rockets’ locker room who are taking note of the club’s newfound commitment to team ball. Charlotte’s Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, a man famous for his belief in playing the “right way,” sees it, too.

“They have a lot of guys that are unselfish,” he said when asked about Houston's play. “They had guys passing up a shot to get guys a better shot. That will always make you successful.”

It's certainly working for the Rockets. The ball movement has never been better, the tempo never closer to their coach's preferred style of play. Yes, it all begins with their anchor, Yao Ming. But it's the total team effort which has the Rockets' ship pointed in the right direction at last.

QUOTES

RICK ADELMAN

(On the win) “It was a solid win for us. Our guys came out with a great effort all the way through and I thought that we really defended well the whole game. We did a nice job in the third quarter of getting the ball to Yao and putting some pressure on them there and obviously we really shot it well from the three point line. It was just a game where we came in with the right attitude and it carried us for 48 minutes.”

(On the game plan after half time) “In the first half we threw it in, but they were doubling him. In the second half we did a better job of moving the ball around so when he caught it they weren't in position to come at him as quickly, and he was able to be aggressive and take it. I thought the first half we didn't do that. We were kind of standing (around) and we had to throw it out and it wasn't as good. If we move the ball a little bit and then he gets it, he has room to maneuver and that's really what the ideal is.”

(On having to replace two starters) “It's a challenge but I've had belief all along because when Tracy was out for a length of time and we had to plug people in, those guys performed. Aaron, we felt was going to perform, because he has done it every time he's started. I think the attitude of these guys, and the fact that they know now that this is the team we have, they know this is what we have, this is what we are going to have to find the way we play with this group.

I think you’re seeing a team that is coming together. I think you see a team that is playing very hard, every day they are coming with an idea that they've got to get better and that's what it's going to take.”

YAO MING

(On the win) “Like coach said about a week ago, these home games are an opportunity for us to turn this around and I think we've done well so far. We have two more games left before we go to Chicago and we need to keep playing hard and playing well like we've done the last couple of games.”

(On the Rockets not allowing the Bobcats to comeback) “We didn't score 130 or a 140 points but we really held our opponents down and once again, we held our opponent to under 90 points and I think that's the key right there.”

(on Artest): Ron did a great job. Defense, offense – He always sets a tone for us. He plays strong and plays hard. And he always tries to get extra possessions for us. Those three-pointers he made – did that surprise you? I’m not (surprised).

(on if the Rockets have turned the corner): Yeah, I feel that. This is our second four-game winning streak during the season and we want to keep rolling. But that can fall (apart) pretty quick if you’re not prepared or ready for the next game. I think my teammates understand that we have enough this season. We need to keep the same intensity we had in the game today and the past couple games, and I trust myself and my teammates to do that.

RON ARTEST

(On the game) “We gave 100 percent and we played hard. We stayed solid. It was another good effort. We've got to give a lot of credit to the point guards again because they are the captains of the ship, so to speak. We almost had them down the first half and then they cut it to 2 (points) going into half time. We stayed solid and built the lead back up. That's a sign of a team that was poised and working pretty well at the end of the 2nd quarter and stayed with it.”

(On putting teams away) “I think the last couple of games we have put teams away with the exception of Dallas. We had a chance to really put Dallas away also but we just didn't for whatever reason. Three out of the four games we have played, we have put teams away.”

VON WAFER

(On the overall play of the team) “We're trying to get in the rhythm. In the second half I was trying to get in the rhythm. I've been shooting terribly and I'm trying to get out of a slump. I think we are all coming together and learning to work together. We've got Kyle and Cook, we are trying to work them in too. We're just becoming more of a unit out there.”

(On the defensive play of the team) “It makes it a lot easier when you are shutting your opponent down. It is not as much pressure on you to score when you are not stopping guys. That puts pressure on you. When you are not stopping guys you've got to score to win. You give yourself a better chance to win if you play defense.”

AARON BROOKS

(On the win) “We did a good job of closing this game out. In the 3rd quarter we came out, we were up 2 (points) and we didn't have a letdown in the 3rd quarter which was good. In the 4th quarter we just kept it going. Brent and Lowry did a great job of coming in and closing out the game.”

LUIS SCOLA

(On the play of the Rockets) “I think we're kind of clicking. We are getting better. We are playing better defense, we are fighting and we are competing harder every day. That is pretty much what we need. We've got a lot of talent and we've got a lot of players and that is pretty much what we need. If we can play defense and play hard every day, then you're not going to win every game but sooner or later you have something to fall back on.”

BOBCATS COACH LARRY BROWN

(on the game) “I don’t know if our defense is that terrible when you have a post player like Yao and you have a player like (Ron) Artest who can post. You’ve got to help so you’re going to give up open shots. Our offense is awful. We ended the quarters poorly. It was 66-60, next time I look up its 83-62. We just turned it over so many times that it puts so much pressure on your defense.”

EMEKA OKAFOR

(on the game) “The 1st half seemed like we were closing the gap. They started hitting their shots and we weren’t hitting ours, and that’s the way it goes sometimes. We tried our best and put forth an effort, but it wasn’t enough tonight.”

GERALD WALLACE

(on the Bobcats’ offensive struggles) “We had too many unforced turnovers tonight, and Houston executed greatly and they were able to get the win. We had guys that were trying to do a little too much, and I think we beat ourselves tonight.”

D.J. AUGUSTIN

(on coming back to Houston) “It was real good. I was able to see my family. I had a lot of people at the game. We didn’t come out with a win. Houston was hitting shot after shot after shot. We played hard the whole game.”

NOTES

With a 99-78 win over Charlotte , the Rockets have captured their last seven outings at Toyota Center (1/31/09-2/22/09), which matches Houston ’s season-best home winning streak of seven consecutive games (11/29/08-12/27/08).

The Rockets have not allowed an opponent to reach 90 points in any of the last four games, limiting their foes to just 83.5 points per game over that span.

Houston finished 13-of-27 (.481) from downtown today, which gives the Rockets 10 or more 3-pointers made in 15 games this season. The Rockets reached double-digits from beyond the arc only 15 times all of last season. This game was a reversal of the last meeting between these two teams in Houston, as the Rockets hit just 5-of-29 (.172) from 3-point range last year vs. Charlotte (3/14/08).

The Rockets matched their season high in steals with 14 today (14 on 1/9/09 at Oklahoma City ).

Charlotte recorded a 40-38 edge off the glass today. The Rockets entered today’s game having outrebounded their opponent by a double-digit margin in three straight games (42-29 on 2/11/09 and 56-30 on 2/17/09).

Ron Artest recorded a game-high 26 points (9-15 FG), seven boards, four assists and two steals, as well as matching his career high in 3-point field goals made with a 5-of-7 performance from downtown. He previously set his career best in Toyota Center with 5-of-7 performance with Sacramento at Houston (2/13/07). Artest also has 11 20-point performances this season.

Yao Ming finished with 19 points (7-11 FG), seven rebounds, a season-high-tying two steals and two blocked shots. Yao has posted only one double-double (20-14 on 12/22/04) in five career games against the Bobcats.

Luis Scola posted 12 points (5-10 FG), 10 rebounds and a season-high-tying three steals. Scola now has a career-best four consecutive double-doubles.

Shane Battier registered 12 points (3-6 3FG) and a game-high five assists. Battier is actually 10-of-17 (.588) from beyond the arc over the last three games.

Boris Diaw had 13 points (5-12 FG) today to give him double-figure scoring in 14 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 23. He sets the longest streak by a Bobcats player this season (13 from 12/11/08-1/6/09 by Emeka Okafor) and marks the second longest streak of his career behind a 20-game streak (2/4/06-3/21/06).

Emeka Okafor (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Gerald Wallace (11 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded a double-double in this game. Okafor was actually the only player to register a double-double in the two-game series last season with 12 points and 11 boards at Charlotte (11/11/07).

Raymond Felton also finished with 13 points (6-13 FG), a team-high four assists and two steals for Charlotte .

Got a question for Rockets.com? Send it to Jason Friedman. And for up to the second news and injury updates follow the Rockets and Jason on Twitter.