Fantastic Finish Propels Rockets To Victory

Houston uses huge fourth quarter to outlast Hornets 108-100

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - Sometimes the name of the game is simply to overcome. It’s about overcoming obstacles like a triple-double from Chris Paul, a career-high night from David West and a miserable third quarter.

The Rockets did all that and more Tuesday night, pairing a fantastic first half with a fourth quarter filled with beautiful basketball to knock off the New Orleans Hornets 108-100 at Toyota Center. Houston’s remarkable finishing kick put an exclamation mark on a game which featured scintillating performances and big runs from both sides, as the Rockets found a way to overcome a disastrous third quarter in which they were outscored by a margin of 31-13.

“It wasn't looking very good for us but we came back and we closed the game pretty good,” said Luis Scola, who finished the game with 13 points and 12 rebounds. “It was a huge win for us. We needed the win. We were able to get over it and play the right way in the 4th quarter."

Both teams took turns scorching the nets in the first half, with the Rockets enjoying a 61-51 edge at the break thanks to their red-hot shooting from beyond the arc. With Aaron Brooks (14 points at the half, 4-of-5 from deep) leading the way, Houston connected on 8 of its first 15 shots from downtown, helping the club maintain a comfortable cushion despite the Hornets’ own healthy offensive output.

The Rockets’ prosperity, however, hit a major snag in the third quarter, as the club went ice cold from the field while New Orleans – and David West in particular – proved particularly unstoppable. West went off for 22 points in the period – on his way to a career-high 44 for the game – as the Hornets found a way to transform their 10-point halftime deficit into an 8-point advantage heading into the final frame.

Houston’s third quarter issues kept the spotlight on something which has been a bit of a bugaboo for the team of late; namely, their inability to maintain their energy and performance level coming out of the halftime break. Over the course of the last five games, the Rockets have now been outscored by a total of 132-77 – an average of 11 points per game.

“We talked about it at halftime and we still did it,” lamented Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman after the game. “I don’t know what it is, we’re going to have to look at it and have our guys come out with more energy; it was like we were surprised when they came at us. I really thought it was more us than them.”

Yet despite all of Houston’s third quarter misfires, the team managed to turn the tables on New Orleans the moment the final frame began. The Rockets instantaneously reverted to their hot-shooting ways and rolled off a remarkable 23-4 run to open the period, reclaiming both the lead and control of the game.

As they had throughout the evening, Aaron Brooks (team-high 27 points) and Shane Battier (20 points, 5-of-8 from downtown) sparked the Rockets' attack, but it was Trevor Ariza who delivered perhaps the largest shot, shaking off his shooting woes while driving through the lane for an emphatic slam in the game’s final minute to help ensure a happy drive home for the Toyota Center faithful.

“It feels good because all throughout the game I was missing,” said Ariza, who finished with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting. “To have a big shot, it does a lot for me and it helps our team out too."

And while Ariza’s big dunk was unquestionably a much-needed confidence booster for the sixth-year swingman, it’s worth noting that his coach and teammates have no doubts whatsoever about his ability to break out of his current slump.

"Trevor is figuring it out,” said Battier. “When you are struggling like he has the last couple of games, you find ways to get it done. He was upset after the game but we told him that was a huge play to get that dunk and really get the crowd into the game and it really sealed it for us."

Added Adelman: “This is a transition period for him. As much as he had it going early and things were easy, now it’s a little tougher and teams are playing him different. He’s got to figure out a way to be effective. I told him, ‘Don’t worry about making shots, worry about affecting the game in other ways. Be a facilitator, be a rebounder and affect the game that way and then the scoring will come.’”

It’s all just a matter of time and a matter of overcoming – for both Ariza and his team. Tuesday night they each found a way and took a step forward, signaling not just the important growth gained but also the better days which surely lie in wait for them both.

QUOTES

RICK ADELMAN (post game)

It’s a really good win. The third quarter, we talked about it at halftime – the last few games we have not come out in the third quarters and played – we’ve had poor third quarters and we talked about it at halftime and we still did it. I don’t know what it is, we’re going to have to look at it and have our guys come out with more energy; it was like we were surprised when they came at us. I really thought it was more us than them. But give them credit, they responded in the fourth quarter. Kyle came in and got us going and turned the game around. It was a big win for us.

(third quarter aside, more what you wanted to see from the team?): Yeah, I mean the first half I think we had 20 assists – that’s a pretty good number – and we moved the ball better and we just hadn’t been doing it. I saw Shane’s comments the other day and I think that’s really true: when you’re playing so many games and you don’t practice, attrition sets in and when things start getting tough or a little harder, you don’t trust each other as much and we have to do that. When we move the ball and make cuts and do quick-hitting things – not where they can just lock-in on us; that’s when we get in trouble. We just start standing around and that’s not good for us. But tonight we persevered and did what we had to do and got a good win.

(defending West in the fourth quarter): We talked about how we were not going to let him continue to go one-on-one, we were going to come at him. We put Carl on him and told him to just be active. If (West) is going to make shots, I’d rather still have him shoot the 20-footer than to get into the paint area where he’s really tough. So we were going to double him but once we got that 12-point lead, we decided to play him one-on-one. But you have to be more physical and you have to understand what his strengths are. We know what he likes to do and we talked about it and we still allowed him to get to the areas where he’s really good – you have to take those away from him. He’s a very good player and hasn’t really put up the numbers he has in the past but tonight he sure did. Our big guys just have to do a better job of keeping him from the spots he wants to get to.

(Trevor’s big dunk): He’s got to learn. Everybody has talked about how he hasn’t shot the ball very well at all the last two weeks. This is a transition period for him. As much as he had it going early and things were easy, now it’s a little tougher and teams are playing him different. He’s got to figure out a way to be effective. I told him, ‘Don’t worry about making shots, worry about affecting the game in other ways. Be a facilitator, be a rebounder and affect the game that way and then the scoring will come.’ He’s just going to have to learn what teams are trying to do and take advantage of it. I just think he’s got to be more aggressive, not really worry about getting his shot blocked and just go in there and see if he can draw contact and make people foul him.

(on Aaron Brooks): I thought Aaron was really good. That’s why I played him so much in the first half. He was active and into it. I still think we can push the ball better than we have but that takes 5 people and, like I said, we have to get back to that – all 5 people have to run.

RICK ADELMAN (pre-game on Tracy McGrady)

It’s what it is. He’s wanted more playing time and we weren’t ready to do that at this point. It came to a head and we’ll see where it goes from here. We’ve talked about it enough and hopefully we can move on and see what happens from this point on. 

(Physically what was missing from his game?): He’s been hurt for over a year. The thing that people want to write about it who he was two years ago and he isn’t that right now. I’ve said it before: we have a whole team here and it’s not just about what he wants or what he was going to want. It was about what can he do to help us win? And that was the bottom line to me. In the past, we’ve been able to play with him and last year we were able to work him in, but we had Yao, we had Ron and a lot more room for error last year.

We could run things through him in the past just like good teams do with great players and he was able to create a lot of offense for everybody else. We’re playing a different way (this year); we have to push the ball and play a certain way to give us a chance to win and we needed him to be part of that. I don’t think that was possible today. Tracy, he wanted to play and he wanted to push it and, unfortunately, you have to deal with the whole group and not just one individual. I think he’s coming back from major surgery and he’s rehabilitating and who knows when he’s going to get there, but right now he was not there – not enough to change the way we were going to play. 

(is there a sense of relief?): Believe it or not, I had a feeling this was going to happen all along. It was in training camp where I was interested to see where he said he’s not supposed to be back until January or February. Well, OK. We started in training camp and he wanted to push himself and get out there quicker than we thought he was able to help us. I had to make that decision as to when we brought him back and we looked at it and he wasn’t satisfied with that, so we decided to go this way.  

We’ll see what happens now. My job is still those guys in that locker room and we’re trying to win games. We’re trying to stay where we are and I know how fragile it is, so my whole concentration now has to be with the guys here and what we’re trying to do as a team. 

(if he was OK with the status quo, would he be playing 7-8 minutes tonight?): Possibly. But I didn’t know what was that answer after the 7-8 minutes. Do you go up to 15, do you go up to 20 and then once you do that for two games does it have to be 30? It seemed like that was the direction it was being pushed and I wasn’t comfortable with that or ready to do that. 

(was the explosiveness gone?): Well I think that’s pretty obvious if you watch him in those games. That’s the two things: He’s such a great creator and I still believe that he’s got so much skill and he’s so talented and such a smart player that he can be an effective offensive player. But it has to be a certain way: the ball has to go through him a lot of times. Yeah, the explosiveness definitely wasn’t there. He didn’t get to the basket like he used to, he didn’t have that first step where he could blow by people. And defensively he was struggling with that a little bit but that’s to be expected. We all expected that. I’ve seen that before from players who have had that surgery so it wasn’t unexpected to me. But we don’t know what timetable he has or if it’s going to come back. 

(with him not being with the team any longer, does it limit this team’s potential?): I don’t believe so. He could have a real positive effect if, all things being equal, if he was willing to accept the minutes and we needed him at a certain time and he could play like we’re trying to play. I didn’t know if that was going to be possible going down the line. The guy has played ten years in the league and he’s played a certain way. He’s comfortable playing that way because he’s had great success but we were hoping that he could be a difference maker. Right now, our team is trying to play a certain way and we fell off recently in the way we were playing and a lot of that has to do with the schedule. We have a period coming up where I think this team can still compete at a level where we can be very competitive and we can win games. Whether Tracy could have helped us there, I would hope that maybe he could have with the talent he has but then there’s got to be an acceptance of how we’re going to play and how he was going to fit in with the group – at least this year. 

(could Tracy come back with the Rockets?): Today, I would seriously doubt that. He’s made it clear that he wants to move on and we’ll see what we can do.  

(did you get the sense that if you gave Tracy 15 minutes he would have wanted 20 and if you gave him 25 he would have wanted 30, etc.?): That’s what I didn’t know. The envelope was being pushed every time we did something. It would last a couple games and he would want it to be changed and I, after 6 games, was not willing to do that because I didn’t know how it was going to affect the team. I really did not know that. This team has a great group of guys and they bust their tails every night and in practice every day and the effect of that on the team – it affected us last year somewhat but we were able to overcome it – but right now I don’t know if we could overcome just how much it could affect everybody on the team. His reputation is tremendous in this league as far as talent but what you can do on the floor is what we have to look at.  

(how disappointed are you that you couldn’t work things out?): Well, I decided to do that and it didn’t come easy when I decided to play him those 6 games. You remember, I read the Chronicle and I went with their thought process… Now I’m not so sure (laughs). No, we had three straight back to backs, Tracy was pushing to play, we had watched him in practice and I said at the time, ‘You’re going to play 7-8 minutes, so there’s no reason for you not to just go out there and attack.’ I felt the one game here he did that and he looked good. The other games that was not the case. Now a lot of that is because the game just went by him because he only had 7-8 minutes and that can happen.

But that was going to come sooner or later and I tried to do it during that time frame when the schedule was the way it was because I thought it would be easiest because we needed bodies when Chase went down. We needed to have people play anyway and I thought he could help us there, too, and we could get a look at him. It didn’t work out. He wanted more minutes than that and I just didn’t know what the answer was but I knew it wasn’t going to be just increasing minutes. I wanted to be positive that, whatever we did, it was going to go in the right direction for this team. When we sat him down two games, he decided that he wanted to move on and maybe that’s the best thing – see what we can do. 

(did you think he wouldn’t accept what he was going to have to do to fit in with this team?): Well I watched him practice. We’ve watched him and seen the same things in practice that we saw last year when he was hurt and now he’s coming back and it’s all understandable. He’s played at such a high level (in the past) but I truly believe that he thinks that maybe he can turn it on and be an effective player but the way we’re playing didn’t jive with that. Maybe on another team he could fit in and play the 25 minutes and they could go to him – I don’t know, that could be possible. But I just saw the way it was going, it was going to be a difficult task, I could sense it.  

(when he put the uniform on a month ago, how shocked were you?): That was all part of the process. That was something where he wanted to show that he was ready to play or whatever – I didn’t think it was real cool. I think we’re all dealing with the whole situation and I told him at the time: we’ve got a group here, a team here where we’re trying to develop something to keep up through this year with the injuries that we started out with. And that’s why I say the process, it wasn’t going smooth; it was being pushed. I got to the point where the pushing wasn’t going to continue. It was going to be what was best for the team and not for one individual.  

(are you relieved?): If we could win tonight, I’d feel a lot better. Really this is the one day we’ve talked about it and I hope this is it. I’ve always said that these guys need to be consistent and stay with it day after day. And if I’m asking them to do that, I have to do it, too. I can’t be worried about what’s going on in another area of the organization – I’ve got to worry about these guys and we’ve got to try to maintain the consistency so we can compete like we have all year.

SHANE BATTIER

We weren’t playing very well which has been our trend in the third quarter the last four games. But I don’t think we had a defeatist attitude or thought that it was just not our night. West really had it going but that initial surge in the fourth quarter was really huge for us as we got back in the game and gave us a little confidence and helped us win the game.

(on third quarter issues): We played so slow in the third quarter. We’re so slow. You don’t really realize until you get a surge like the one we had in the fourth quarter where we’re shooting threes and attacking and pushing the ball and flying around – you look back and go, ‘Man, we’re so slow and lethargic in the third period,’ so I think it’s just a matter of coming out and playing with more energy and remembering what’s good basketball for us.

(on his scoring): I’m a post-Christmas shooter (laughs). I don’t know, I’ve been like that every year. I don’t know why, I’m weird like that.

(On the 4th quarter comeback) "We knew that we were playing un-Rockets basketball in the 3rd quarter and we wanted to come out and finish the game strong and down 8 (points) in the 4th quarter we said to ourselves, 'Come on guys. Let's play the way we know we are capable of playing.'  That means turning it up on the defensive end, turning up the intensity and getting out and running. We were able to survive a scrappy game by them (Hornets) and that's what we usually try to do to other teams."

 (On Trevor Ariza's dunk in the 4th quarter) "Trevor is figuring it out. When you are struggling like he has the last couple of games, you find ways to get it done. He was upset after the game but we told him that was a huge play to get that dunk and really get the crowd into the game and it really sealed it for us."

LUIS SCOLA

 (On the win) "It wasn't looking very good for us but we came back and we closed the game pretty good. It was a huge win for us. We needed the win. We were able to get over it and play the right way in the 4th quarter."

 (On the play of David West) "He is an all-star. I thought I was doing a good job on him and he just kept making shots and doing whatever he wants. He is a great player."

TREVOR ARIZA

 (On his crucial 4th quarter dunk) "It feels good because all throughout the game I was missing (shots). To have a big shot, it does a lot for me and it helps our team out too."

 (On the Rockets team effort) "It's been rough for me the past couple of games but fortunately, we were able to come out with wins. When one of us isn't playing good, somebody else steps up and we were fortunate enough to come out here with a win."

AARON BROOKS

 (On what changed from the 3rd to the 4th quarter) "We just started moving the ball a lot more. We got out around a little more. Carl Landry came in and did a great job and gave us some points. Normally when we come out in the game and have a bad 3rd quarter, we put our heads in the dirt and I think we did a good job in the 4th quarter of saying that's not going to happen again. We came out and played our game. We didn't hesitate. When the shot was open, we took it and we got back to doing what we were doing 1st and 2nd quarter."

 (On closing the December schedule) "I think we are ready to start a new year. We have one more against Dallas. It's a tie breaker so that's a big game. It's been a rough December with all these back to backs. I think it was good for us to be ready to move forward."

Hornets Coach Jeff Bower

 (ON THE GAME)

"The fourth quarter was the roughest for us, we really played a good third quarter and we needed to do it early in the fourth but couldn't get the job done. Houston played extremely well in the first half. They had good movement and good shots and they seemed to make every one of them. I was pleased with our third quarter but we came up short in the fourth."

 (KEY TO THE GAME)

"The biggest difference was the three-point shooting. Their ability to get open threes was the difference. Emeka (Okafor) had a big impact in the paint. Battier and Brooks came up with big shots. Battier is an outstanding defender and he knows the personnel that he is defending."

 (DAVID WEST CAREER HIGH GAME)

"He was outstanding. He played with his post-up and face-up game against his defender. It was a welcome thing for us, but not enough to get the win."

David West

 (ON THE TEAMS PLAY)

"I was trying to be more aggressive because we really needed a win on the road. We weren't able to sustain things in the fourth quarter. We didn't' come out with the right mindset (in the fourth). We have to continue to move and share the basketball. We let Brooks and Battier hit too many shots."

 (ON CAREER HIGH)

"I was playing with a certain level of aggressiveness and my teammates were getting me the ball in positions I could score. I was very confident and I was hitting my shots."

Chris Paul

 (KEY TO THE FOURTH QUARTER)

"I think the tempo changed and that really hurt us. I had an early turnover on the first possession and then they hit some big threes and we got out of our rhythm."

 (ON THE TEAMS PLAY)

"Some people think this team plays through me but we play through David West. He had a big game for us. David west took a blow early in the fourth quarter and it took us out of our game."

(ON THE ROCKETS)

"They shot lights out. Brooks and Battier both were shooting the ball well and that killed us."

NOTES

Tonight's attendance of 18,187 marked the sixth sellout for the Rockets this season.

Houston posted a 108-100 victory tonight, extending its current home winning streak to a season-best five straight games. The Rockets also improved their record to 11-1 in games following a loss.

The Rockets matched their season high with 12 3-pointers made (.522, 12-23 3FG) tonight.

Houston finished with 61 first-half points (23-39 FG, 8-15 3FG), marking the fourth 60-point half of the season for the Rockets.

The Rockets assisted on 20 of their 23 field goals made in the first half tonight, including 11 of 12 field goals made in the first quarter. Houston matched its season highs for assists in a half (20) and a quarter (11).

Houston overcame a 4-of-20 shooting performance in the third quarter by matching its season high of 34 fourth-quarter points. Including tonight's contest, the Rockets are shooting a combined 18-of-76 (.237) from the field in the third quarter of the last four games (12/23/09-12/29/09).

The Hornets took the battle in the paint by a 50-30 (-20) margin over the Rockets.

Aaron Brooks matched his career best of five 3-pointers made (5-7 3FG) en route to 27 points (8-12 FG, 6-7 FT) tonight. Brooks also notched his 13th 20-point game of the season.

Shane Battier finished with 20 points (7-12 FG) behind a 5-of-8 performance from 3-point range. Battier is now shooting .536 (15-28 3FG) from beyond the arc at Toyota Center during Houston's current five-game home winning streak (12/9/09-12/29/09). Battier has now hit five or more 3-pointers in a game 13 times over his career, including 11 times with the Rockets.

Luis Scola posted 13 points (5-10 FG) and 12 rebounds tonight. Scola also notched a pair of double-doubles against the Hornets last season.

David West had a career-high 44 points (18-30 FG) and 12 rebounds tonight, which included a 22-point third quarter (7-10 FG, 2-3 3FG, 6-8 FT). West, who also had three double-doubles in last season's series with Houston, marked his second 30-point, 10-rebound game of the season. His previous high in points was 40 done three times prior (last on 3/31/09 at Sacramento).

Chris Paul registered 16 points (7-15 FG), a season-high 11 rebounds and 10 assists tonight, which marked his first triple-double of the season and the 11th triple-double of his career. Dated back to the 2006-07 campaign, Paul has at least a point-assist double-double in nine of the last 10 games against the Rockets, including a streak of eight straight outings.

Emeka Okafor matched his season best in blocked shots with all five of his blocks in the third quarter.

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