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Thursday April 5, 2012 11:56 AM
Lowry Returns To Practice
Rockets point guard takes part in first practice since bacterial infection
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Jason Friedman
Rockets.com
HOUSTON - Kyle Lowry returned to practice the floor Thursday morning for the first time since coming down with a bacterial infection that has forced him to miss the Rockets past 14 games.
Lowry was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, primarily taking part in half-court drills with the club. And while there remains no definite timetable for his return to game action, his ability to participate in on-court activities with his teammates was clearly a positive benchmark on his road to recovery.
"Kyle looked pretty good," said Rockets Head Coach Kevin McHale. "He moved OK. He did some of our up-and-down stuff, we didn't do a ton of up-and-down today; we did more yesterday. So that's probably what he needs more. Half-court is one thing, it's tough to get your wind back, but he looked pretty good. We'll see where it goes."
Said Lowry: "It was fun. It was good to be out there. It's huge from where I thought I was going to be a couple weeks ago. It's always a work in progress everyday, just one step at a time. I'll just go out there and see how I feel tomorrow and take it day by day.
"This process has gone faster than I believed it was going to happen. Like I said, I just have to take it day by day. We've got a long flight to Los Angeles and I've got to see how I feel when I walk off the plane and wake up tomorrow morning. I definitely have a better feeling about coming back this season."
Prior to his bout with the bacterial infection, Lowry had been enjoying a banner year, posting career highs in points (15.9), assists (7.2), rebounds (5.3) and steals (1.8) per game, while also connecting on a career-best 38.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. The Rockets have gone 8-6 in his absence during the 14 games he's missed due to illness.
In other news Thursday, the Rockets also announced that they have signed point guard Earl Boykins to a second 10-day contract. He is averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 assists in five games with Houston.
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