PrintRaptors Race Past Cold-Shooting Rockets
Houston unable to overcome slow start, fall to Toronto 101-88
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Houston - Throughout all the changes the game of basketball has undergone since Dr. James Naismith first nailed a peach basket onto a gymnasium wall, one simple truth has remained: it’s awfully tough to win if you don’t hit shots.
Much to their chagrin, The Rockets provided a textbook example of that hoops axiom Sunday afternoon, shooting an anemic 37% from the field and a woeful 3-of-24 (12.5%) from three-point land on their way to falling 101-88 to the Toronto Raptors.
Houston’s cold-shooting put the club into a deep hole early and, unlike Friday night’s stirring come from behind victory over Philadelphia, the Rockets simply could not recover, never trimming Toronto’s lead to fewer than 9 points in the fourth quarter.
“We wanted to come back and win the game,” said Luis Scola, one of the few Rockets able to shoot straight in this matinee affair. “It happens once in awhile but it won’t happen on a daily basis. We’re going to lose 95 percent of the games we start this way. So we need to learn from this game, it can’t happen any longer. If we want to win games, especially on the road, we can’t afford to approach the game this way.”
As Scola alluded to, Houston found itself staring at a large deficit in the early going for the second straight game. In Philly two nights earlier, the Rockets trailed by 17 points in the first quarter and they found life little better north of the 49th parallel, as the Raptors closed the opening frame on a 20-8 run to take a 32-17 lead after the first quarter of play. And though Houston managed to trim the margin slightly by halftime, its offense was still M.I.A., as the club shot just 37% from the field – an indictment of poor shooting and a lack of ball movement.
“I thought we played very poor the first half offensively,” lamented Rockets’ Head Coach Rick Adelman. “We only had 3 assists (at halftime). We average 21 or 22 (assists per game) and you only get 3 in one half then that means the ball’s not moving. They were very aggressive and very active; they were getting to our shots. But like I said, just a very poor first quarter. We had nothing going.”
That especially held true for Trevor Ariza, who finished the game 0-of-9, with 4 turnovers and just a single point. Ariza’s day subsequently came to a premature end when his frustrations boiled over at the 3:47 mark of the third quarter, as the Rockets’ swingman was ejected for swinging his arm at Raptors’ rookie DeMar DeRozan following a steal.
Coincidence or otherwise, Ariza’s ejection seemed to spark the Rockets somewhat as Houston closed the third quarter on a 14-4 run to keep the club within striking distance heading to the final frame. But despite the best efforts of Carl Landry (25 points on 10-of-13 shooting) and Scola (21 points, 15 rebounds), the Rockets never seriously threatened Toronto in the fourth quarter. On five occasions, Houston trimmed its deficit to 9 points and every single time the Raptors had an answer as Toronto’s trio of Chris Bosh (27 points), Hedo Turkoglu (23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) and Jarrett Jack (17 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) made sure their club emerged victorious.
“We have to tip our hats, I think they did a good job,” said Aaron Brooks, who scored 20 points but only connected on 6-of-20 shots from the field. “Bosh played really well and he and Turkoglu took over at the end of the game. We’ve got a game coming up so you’ve got to put this behind you and try to beat the Pistons.”
AND 1s: Landry and Scola combined to shoot 19-of-31 from the field, while scoring 46 points and grabbing 22 rebounds. The rest of the Rockets hit just 12-of-56 (21.4%) of their field goal attempts… Landry scored 20 points or more for the 11th time this season… Brooks topped the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in the last 6 games.
QUOTES
RICK ADELMAN
Just a very poor first quarter. It cost us and we could never get back from that.
(happy with the shot selection?): No, I thought we played very poor the first half offensively. We only had 3 assists. We average 21 or 22 (assists per game) and you only get 3 in one half then that means the ball’s not moving. They were very aggressive and very active; they were getting to our shots. But like I said, just a very poor first quarter. We had nothing going.
We didn’t respond. You get down in the road in this league to a team that has talent like that and it’s going to be hard.
(expect Ariza to be suspended?): I have no idea. I did not see the play so I have no idea.
AARON BROOKS
We just missed a lot of shots. We got the shots we wanted. We got layups, we got threes – what more can you ask for?
We’ve got a game coming up so you’ve got to put this behind you and try to beat the Pistons. We have to tip our hats, I think they did a good job. Bosh played really well and at he and Turkoglu took over at the end of the game.
LUIS SCOLA
We wanted to come back and win the game. It happens once in awhile but it won’t happen on a daily basis. We’re going to lose 95 percent of the games we start this way. So we need to learn from this game, it can’t happen any longer. If we want to win games, especially on the road, we can’t afford to approach the game this way.
SHANE BATTIER
It was just one of those days. You have those during the course of a year where you just can’t buy a shot. You just don’t play well. We didn’t play well tonight.
(Thoughts on the Trevor Ariza ejection): I didn’t see what happened. I was on the court and running back in transition defence when they stopped the play. I didn’t see what happened to tell you the truth.
(Are you concerned about the slow start two games in a row?): No. You always look at yourself and try and be critical of the way you played in wins and losses. We haven’t played great the last two weeks. We have played well enough to win, but we haven’t played great by our standards. We just haven’t put together full games. Part of that was Toronto, they made a lot of shots tonight and we didn’t play with the level of energy or togetherness you need to win on the road in this league.
JAY TRIANO (Raptors' Head Coach)
On the team’s consistency and effort in the game…
We had a good effort and energy throughout the game. Good pressure defensively on guys with the ball, better than we’ve had. We were aware of where the three-point shooters were, making sure they didn’t get any open looks. For the most part I thought we contested and took away their threes which is a big thing against this team.
Is it frustrating, not having the effort and consistency all the time?
No, it’s an 82 game schedule. If you could bottle it you might win every game. Is it frustrating? No. When you do it feels good. In the games where it doesn’t happen obviously you get a little frustrated but the guys play hard and afternoon games we have not done well. We got up a little earlier this morning so maybe that was the difference.
Thoughts on the play of Hedo Turkoglu…
I think we got him in and got the ball into his hands at different time and he was able to turn the corner quite a bit.
HEDO TURKOGLU (23 points, six rebounds, five assists)
Do you think the team is figuring out how to use you?
Today, I got the ball more and the chance to be more aggressive. As long as I do those things I’m going to look for the best opportunity for myself and try to find my teammates to get them easy shots. Today was a good day for me and it helped the team.
Thoughts on Houston making it close…
We knew they were going to make a run. We had to keep our composure, get some stops, and get some rebounds at the end. On offence, we needed good execution and to find the open guys. As long as we do those things, it will help us win games. We have to do this every single night.
SONNY WEEMS (11 points, four rebounds)
On you seeming to be a guy that’s provided energy…
That’s my job. Every time I come in, whether it’s five minutes or three or four minutes, it’s my job to come in and give the team a lift, get the crowd into it, get my teammates into it. That’s why I take that to heart. I’m willing to do that. If it helps my team win, I’ll do it.
CHRIS BOSH (27 points, six rebounds)
Do you wonder where that effort is on a game-by-game basis?
No. Some days we are clicking and sometimes we’re not. We can’t dwell on the past, ever. You can’t try to figure this out or figure that out. We just have to stay consistent with what we do. We have to look at the positive things and try to think about that all the time.
Thoughts on the defensive effort….
The defensive effort was good. We still let them catch it too easily in the paint. We gave up some offensive rebounds, but other than that, I think we were pretty solid on defence. We are starting to get better on the weak side defence and that’s really helping us out. Against a good team like Houston, who moves the ball and runs their offence pretty well, I think we did a good job on that.
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