PrintIce-Cold Rockets No Match For Heat
Houston enters All-Star break on down note, falling 99-66 to Miami
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Houston - Some people believe Miami to be one of the great American cities. Beautiful beaches. Culturally diverse. Legendary nightlife.
Don’t count the Rockets among that aforementioned appreciative group. At least not right now. Chances are they’ve never been so happy to leave Miami in their rearview mirror.
Languishing beneath the burden of one of the worst offensive performances in franchise history, Houston suffered its most lopsided loss of the season, falling to the Heat 99-66. The defeat dropped the Rockets’ record to 27-24 at the All-Star break; a hiatus which couldn’t come at a better time for the club given its inconsistent play of late and the key injuries recently suffered by Kyle Lowry and Trevor Ariza.
The proceedings began with a first half largely devoid of silver linings. Take away Chuck Hayes’ terrific first quarter numbers (4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 charges taken – all in just 9 minutes of work) and everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the Rockets.
For starters, Houston couldn’t hit a shot. Bunnies, bombs – it didn’t matter. Everything eventually caromed off the rim. The Rockets shot an anemic 30 percent from the field in the first half, while coming up completely empty (0-of-7) from beyond the arc.
Making matters worse, Houston also displayed a disturbing propensity for turning the ball over (11 in the first half overall) which, when combined with the multitude of errant shots, led to a plethora of fast break chances for Miami; opportunities upon which the Heat were only too happy to capitalize.
When all was said and done, the Rockets had set season lows for points in both the second quarter and first half. Their tremendous bench, second in the NBA in scoring, managed just a meager 4 points. And as a result, Houston trailed 56-31 at the break, while showing little in the way of evidence that a miraculous comeback could perhaps be in the offing.
The Rockets actually made a brief surge of sorts in the third quarter, draining four 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the half to trim Miami’s advantage to 17. But Houston’s hot streak ended soon after as the club regressed to its previously cold-shooting ways, allowing the Heat to expand its sizable margin once more. How bad was it? Only one Rockets player shot better than 42 percent from the field Tuesday night. The lone marksman: Chuck Hayes, who hit the only two shots he attempted.
With the game all but decided, the fourth quarter took on the look of a preseason game as both teams emptied their benches. And even garbage time proved unkind to Houston as the Rockets could only muster 3 points during the game’s final 8 ½ minutes, putting the cap on a performance which saw the team match a rather ignominious milestone: Houston’s 66 points equaled the fewest total number of points scored in a game in franchise history.
Quotes
Rick Adelman
“I don’t have much to say. We played very poorly and they played very well. We got our heads down at the end of the first half; we also missed a lot of good shots the first quarter. During the second quarter it seemed like they were making every shot. I really thought we hung our heads at the end of the second quarter then we saw a little light during the third quarter and brought it to where we were only down 16 or 17 then they just exploded again. We just didn’t have it.”
“It was at halftime, I told them we can’t play that way. We can’t hang our heads. I told them in the second to come out and see if they can pick it up and see if we can get something going; if nothing else we learn. It’s just a tough league and you have to just play through things. We have to get our mindset right for the last 31 games.”
Aaron Brooks
On the game: “Too many turnovers, we didn’t make shots, and [Dwyane] Wade got going. We haven’t been playing good basketball as of late. During the break we’ll have time to think about it and be ready for the next round of games.”
Shane Battier
On the game: “All things considered not a bad first half. In the first quarter we missed shots, turned the ball over, and they hit shots. It got away from us. We started to hang our heads. We got passive.”
“They kept the pressure on us and they made shots. When you stop protecting the rim and become passive it can get away from you.”
On Aaron Brooks development: “We saw flashes. But we have to think about night after night. Everyone is talented, can you do it every single night is the concern. Aaron [Brooks] has shown some great consistency.”
Carl Landry
On the game and his role: “Its different being double teamed and having teams dig down on you. I’m just trying to learn the game right now. I need to pick it up and carry some of the weight that was lost from Yao [Ming] being out. I went into the season knowing the opportunity was going to be there. I’m a competitor. I’m not satisfied. I want to be better.”
On the all-star break: “I plan on relaxing and spending some time with my family. I wanted a break from basketball because I know that when I come back I’m going to be rejuvenated.”
Luis Scola
On the game: “We were way down in the beginning, so it was difficult to come back. We couldn’t make shots and they were making everything.”
Erik Spoelstra
On the game: “Well, we caught a Houston team a little beat up. It certainly was a factor. What I told the team beforehand, ‘life wouldn’t be so difficult, if you didn’t think it would be so easy.’ Put it in NBA [terms], ‘the NBA wouldn’t be so difficult, if you didn’t think it would be so easy.’ I don’t think our guys think the NBA and the games are easy, but the point is it’s hard. It’s hard to win in this league. You have to make an incredible effort and have an incredible mindset of focus and have an edge to win. Probably what was most encouraging about this group, instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we came in with the right mindset to work and try to get better and try to make a difference. Yesterday at practice every one went and went hard. This is only one game, so we move on. It gets tougher tomorrow. We’ve got Atlanta. They’re playing right now. We know what the deal is on back to backs.”
On the entire team’s contribution – on the HEAT’s collective effort: “Like I said, it was a residual and mindset of yesterday. To come in and not hang our heads. To not feel sorry for ourselves, not to hide under a rock. Every single guy in that locker room came in the extra day early ready to work.”
“Guys were extremely active on the defensive end and that opened up some opportunities for us in transition. We wanted to play quicker on misses and get up the floor for better spacing and better opportunities.”
On the HEAT’s collective resolve and whether that would lead to a win: You never know that as a head coach. You live minute to minute. I didn’t know what to expect other than the fact that I felt a little bit better about it in terms of yesterday everybody coming in that extra day. Our captains led the way.”
On the first half of the season: “It’s in progress. That quote about life being hard, the NBA being hard, it is. We have a long way to go, but we have a great opportunity to turn this around. It doesn’t have to be tonight. We can grind, get back on track and start to plug away. It has to be that absolute commitment.”
Daequan Cook
On the game: “We came out with a lot of energy. Hungry. It’s been five games (since the last win) and it’s been kind of tough. We just had to come out and jump on this team.”
On participating in the three-point contest at All-Star weekend:
“It’s a big honor and privilege to be part of it again, going back to defend my title. I’m looking forward to going up against some of the great shooters in there this year.”
Dwyane Wade
On the game: “It was a whole bunch of guys contributing, on both ends of the floor. We were very active on the defensive end of the floor. We know who the head of the snake is on their team and we knew we had to be there when Aaron Brooks turned corners, that Skip [Rafer Alston] was going to do a good job of fighting but that our bigs had to do a good job of blitzing and we had the help. We knew that if we could stop the head of the snake we could make it tough for them.”
On a well rounded team effort: “That’s the reason we got this win. The first team came out and established the game early but the second team really came in and put the game away. If we can continue to get that production from the bench, not the same numbers, but the energy nightly, then we will be able to win most of our games.”
On the All-Star Game: “The best part is enjoying being an All-Star; getting an opportunity to share it with your loved ones. When you sit in a room and you see that you’re one of twelve that’s there for the East or West you’re proud of your individual accomplishments, and you can be proud for that moment. It’s great. I enjoy it. Even though I’m not going to get any rest this week, I’ll enjoy it.
“When you get there and you start feeling it, feeling the hype of being an All-Star, going to different events, that’s when you feel that it’s still special. Even though you don’t have the jitters that you had the first year you made it there, it’s still special.”
Dorrell Wright
On the game: “We didn’t want to dig a hole that we couldn’t climb out of. We’re happy and satisfied that we got the win but we have another one tomorrow night that’s going to be tough.”
“I was just trying to get everybody involved, making plays, making the extra pass. It was nothing other than what I’ve been doing. I just got more opportunities.”
On the team effort tonight: “That just comes with us moving the ball. I think we had 29 assists. Everybody was getting open shots and we have great open shot shooters. Guys were just knocking it down and playing together.”
“It’s always great when guys are stepping up and knocking down open shots and getting after it on defense. If we continue to do it we should be good.”
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