PrintBig Second Half Propels Pacers To Victory
Defense deserts Rockets in 125-115 defeat
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Houston - For one half at least, the new-look Rockets did exactly what they set out to do. Building upon their brilliant offensive showing in Milwaukee three nights before, Houston came out of the gate sizzling and setting the nets on fire. Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola were rolling. Newcomer Kevin Martin took part in a 14-2 Rockets run. And just as they’d been against the Bucks, Houston’s players were unconscious from beyond the arc.
But when the inevitable occurred and the Rockets’ shooting returned to more human levels, a fatal flaw was exposed: Houston’s defense had sprung a leak and in the second half the dam burst completely as Indiana rolled up a whopping 71 points to rally past the Rockets for a 125-115 victory.
“We talked about it at halftime and every timeout and it never changed,” said Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman if his team’s defense. “We are not going to do anything if we don’t have more of an attitude at the other end of the floor. I know we have some shortcomings but we’ve got to be better than that.”
Saturday’s game marked the continuation of a disturbing pattern for the Rockets, who have recently struggled to avoid poor stretches of play at home. More often than not, that issue has manifested itself on the offensive end where Houston has suffered through inopportune scoring droughts. But though the Rockets did not put on an offensive clinic in the second half, it soon became increasingly clear that the much larger problem was Houston’s absolute inability to stymie the Pacers’ suddenly prolific offense.
Houston-native T.J. Ford got his team rolling with a bevy of buckets late in the third quarter and the rest of his teammates took care of business from there as Indiana set a Rockets’ opponent season-high for points in a half, thanks in no small part to the Pacers hitting 8-of-9 from beyond the arc during the game’s final 24 minutes.
The end result: Houston lost for the 8th time in its last 11 home games; a shocking stat for a team which has traditionally taken full advantage of the friendly confines of Toyota Center.
“It’s the (craziest) thing,” said Shane Battier. “I don’t know if our focus isn’t the same at home or we expect to win games just because we’re at home, I don’t know. But we’re not a very good home team right now.”
Houston’s loss also took a bit of the luster off the Rockets’ debut of Kevin Martin, following Thursday’s blockbuster trade which also added Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries and Hilton Armstrong to the team. Martin struggled with his shot from start to finish, hitting just 3-of-16 from the field, though he did show that his ability to draw fouls is as elite as advertised by earning 9 trips to the charity stripe.
“I loved them,” said Martin of the shots he took. “They felt good but some nights your shot just doesn’t fall. You just can’t let it affect how you play on the other end and you just have to do other things.
“The one good thing about that night is that it is over. It was fun to get back out on the court again with everything that happened over the last couple of days but we didn't come out with a win so I'm kind of disappointed in that aspect.”
QUOTES
RICK ADELMAN
Just a very poor defensive effort on our part. We talked about it at halftime with an 11 point lead how that team can score points and you’ve got to get out there and you’ve got to make a stand, you’ve got to play people individually and not gamble. Then they got it going and started making every shot. You give up 71 points (in the second half) at home, you’re not going to win very many games.
(offensive struggles down the stretch): It’s not about shots. I don’t care about that. We scored 115 points and had 28 assists. We didn’t give ourselves a chance. They had everything going for them and then you start getting down. I think a lot of it was we couldn’t make a stop and then it puts the pressure on you at the other end and someone’s got to make a shot. You’re not playing the whole game. I think it’s kind of a mental thing at that point. If you’re not getting stops at the other end, it carries over to the offensive end. You’re not playing with any flow down there either. I don’t put anything offensively at all. It was all at the other end. We talked about it at halftime and every timeout and it never changed. We are not going to do anything if we don’t have more of an attitude at the other end of the floor. I know we have some shortcomings but we’ve got to be better than that. This team shows you, if they get on a roll, in that fourth quarter they were playing with a lot of confidence and knocking every shot down and now you can’t get a stop. So I’m more concerned with what we’re going to do at that end.
(breakdowns mostly mental?): It’s everything. We’ve got to find a way. We’ve got to play people who are going to give the same effort on the defensive end as they do on the offensive end. We’re going to score points but that’s a very disappointing effort on the defensive end in the second half.
AARON BROOKS
They got hot. They played pretty good basketball in that fourth quarter. I want to say it’s the same song but this time it felt a little bit different. We had the points and we scored the basketball but we just didn’t play defense.
It all started with the third quarter. We had an 11-point lead and we knew these guys score points in bunches. We let them back in the game and they rode the momentum from the third quarter into the fourth. It starts in the 3rd (quarter). You have to go out there and play hard and make a stand in the 3rd quarter and they won't have momentum in the 4th (quarter) and that's what we did. We credit them. Those guys played a great game. T.J. Ford was amazing today. He hit a lot of jumpers. He played well.”
SHANE BATTIER
(On the Rockets poor defensive performance) “It was a bad defensive night for us. I’m still trying to figure out how they (Pacers) scored 71 points in the second half. We just didn't make a stand at all in the second half and you're not going to win games that way.”
You can’t just outscore people in this league; you’ve got to play some defense. We didn’t offer any resistance tonight. You can make up the uncertainty of rotations by just playing hard. We didn’t play hard enough to cover up for our mental mistakes.
(on Martin): I think he showed a glimpse of what he can do in terms of drawing fouls. He’s going to make shots so don’t worry about his numbers tonight. As he gets more comfortable with his teammates and we get more comfortable with what he’s going to do, he’ll help this team a lot.
(on New Orleans): It seems like the road’s been a haven for us, so we’re looking forward to getting another shot tomorrow and playing better and hopefully we can erase this bad feeling right now.
(losing at home): It’s the (craziest) thing. I really couldn’t tell you. I don’t know if our focus isn’t the same at home or we expect to win games just because we’re at home, I don’t know. But we’re not a very good home team right now.
KEVIN MARTIN
(On his first night as a Rocket) “The one good thing about that night is that it is over. It was fun to get back out on the court again with everything that happened over the last couple of days but we didn't come out with a win so I'm kind of disappointed in that aspect.”
(did you like the shots you were getting?): I loved them. They felt good but some nights your shot just doesn’t fall. You just can’t let it affect how you play on the other end and just do other things.
I felt good out there. It was good to play with the group of guys I was playing with. Aaron was making everything easy for me tonight and on the defensive end Trevor and Shane were telling me where to be.
I wasn’t pressing. You just go out there, get your feet wet and move on to the next.
(playing in Adelman’s system again): Everybody was involved and that’s what was so fun. It wasn’t just watching one or two guys stand around and dominate the ball. Once we get used to playing with each other the efficiency will start to come.
LUIS SCOLA
(On closing out the game in the 4th quarter) “The same thing happens with all the games this season. We had control of the game. We just started making mistakes and playing in a bad way. We let them come back and everything turned upside down.”
(On the play of Kevin Martin) “It is the first game. It is really hard to judge him when he doesn't know the system and know the teammates so we just have to give him some time. He is definitely a great player.”
INDIANA PACERS
COACH JIM O’BRIEN
(on the game) “I guess we had them right where we wanted them. It was a great second half. The guys I had out on the court did a terrific job. We were calling T.J.’s (Ford) number and Houston was having a difficult job guarding our spread offense. When we can space the court and defend the ball at a high level, then we are obviously a tough team to beat. When guys are hitting their shots and finding the open man, it makes for great basketball.”
(on the key in the fourth quarter) “We knew we needed to be a lot more active when Brooks was driving to the basket and that was the key to our success in the second half.”
DANNY GRANGER
(on the game) “It was a big win. We gave up way too many easy buckets in the first half. In the second half things turned around for us. We pressured up on Brooks and made it physical and took him out of his game. We moved the ball and created more on offense and we exploited their defense deficiencies.”
TROY MURPHY
(on first half, second half difference) “We really tried to buckle down defensively and then our offense got going.”
(on T.J. Ford’s play) “He was extra ready to have a big game because he was coming home. He had a great night and carried us in the fourth quarter.”
(on the Rockets trade) “ Houston made a heck of a trade getting Martin. Kevin will be a great player for a long time. They have a bright future ahead of them.”
T.J. FORD
(on the win) “It was a big, big, big win for our team and I hope this leads to more victories.”
(on the second half difference) “We have to give everybody credit for this win. We paid more attention to detail and that’s what made the difference in the second half.”
(on coming home and is play) “It always means a lot to me to come back to Houston and have a big game in front of family.
NOTES
Houston saw the Pacers return from a 12-point, second-quarter deficit for a 125-115 win over the Rockets tonight, which helped extend Indiana’s winning streak over Houston to three games. The Rockets also lost a 13-point lead, including a 10-point, fourth-quarter advantage in a 91-90 loss last season vs. Indiana (11/26/08).
The Pacers, who recorded their first road win against a Western Conference opponent this season, set Houston’s opponent season high for points in a half with 71 second-half points.
The Rockets registered 65 points (26-48 FG) over the opening two quarters tonight, matching Houston’s season high for first-half points. The Rockets also scored 65 points (24-46 FG) in the first half vs. the L.A. Clippers (12/22/09).
Houston was 12-of-25 (.480) from beyond the arc tonight. The Rockets have now made 10 or more 3-pointers in each of the last three games, equaling Houston’s season-best run of three straight outings of double-digit 3-pointers made (10/28/09-11/2/09).
The Pacers were also 11-of-20 (.550) from downtown tonight, which marked just the second time this season Houston and its opponent have each made 10 or more 3-pointers in the same contest (Rockets 11-33 3FG and Suns 13-25 3FG on 1/6/10 at Phoenix).
Aaron Brooks recorded 26 points (11-20 FG, 3-7 3FG) and seven assists tonight. He has also made at least one 3-pointer in a career-best 27 consecutive games (12/22/09-2/20/10), which stands as the longest current streak in the NBA. Brooks’ run is just one game ahead of Troy Murphy, who extended his streak to 26 outings with his first make from downtown tonight. Houston’s individual best for most consecutive games with at least one make from beyond the arc is held by current Pacers guard Luther Head (37 from 11/4/06-1/13/07).
Luis Scola posted 25 points (11-17 FG) and 11 rebounds tonight, marking his 19th double-double of the season. Scola also led the Rockets with a 25-point effort (9-16 FG) last season at Indiana (1/23/09).
Trevor Ariza, who re-aggravated a hip-flexor injury in the first half, finished with 16 points (6-11 FG, 3-5 3FG), nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks tonight.
Kevin Martin made his Rockets debut with 14 points (8-9 FT), six rebounds, five assists, three steals and one blocked shot tonight.
David Andersen had a career-best 11 rebounds and Shane Battier added 10 boards, giving the Rockets three players with 10 or more rebounds in the same game (last time: Yao Ming-13, Luis Scola-12 and Ron Artest-11 on 3/24/09 at Utah).
Danny Granger had 36 points (12-17 FG, 4-6 3FG, 8-9 FT), seven boards, four assists and three steals tonight. Granger has now scored 20-plus points in six of the last seven games.
T.J. Ford, who had 21 points (4-12 FG, 13-14 FT) in the last meeting of 2008-09 at Indiana (1/23/09), netted 23 points (10-19 FG) off the bench tonight.
Troy Murphy finished with 18 points (6-15 FG, 2-4 3FG), 12 rebounds, four assists and four steals tonight, giving him a double-double in each of the last four meetings with the Rockets.
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