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Rockets down host Hornets for 11th straight win
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
NEW ORLEANS — Before Friday, it was a winning streak.
It was long and impressive, enough to force pages in the Rockets record book to be flipped back to the championship glory days. But now, it is something else, something greater.
The Rockets' run has become a steamroller with the team demolishing a swath through the schedule and a 100-80 destruction of the front-running New Orleans Hornets ending remaining questions about the validity of the roll.
The Rockets might have been the NBA’s hottest team, but the Hornets were still sitting atop the Western Conference standings, having won eight consecutive home games by an average of 20 points.
Then the Rockets rolled into town for the second half of a back-to-back and blew the Hornets off their court. The Rockets pushed their road winning streak to a franchise-record 10th game and their winning streak overall to 11, their longest since the start of the 1993-94 season.
Of all the wins stacked one atop another, this was the most impressive, coming against a Hornets teams with a five-game winning streak. In the past 10 games, the Hornets had knocked off the Suns, Spurs, Nuggets and Wednesday against the Mavericks, and had won seven of nine games against the Rockets.
But the Rockets dominated. They led by as much as 27, held an eighth team in nine games to fewer than 90 points and did not allow the Hornets to reach 40 percent shooting until the final minutes, long after New Orleans coach Byron Scott had cleared his bench.
Unlike some of their other wins against the stronger teams in the streak, the Rockets got huge games from their stars with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming scoring easily.
McGrady finished with 34 points, making 14 of 26 shots and adding six assists. Yao had 28, making 12 of 21 shots, with 14 rebounds.
From the start, there was a big-game feel. The game drew 17,714 to New Orleans Arena in just the third Hornets sellout and their largest crowd of the season.
In the first quarter, Rafer Alston and Tyson Chandler squared off briefly, each drawing technical fouls. Minutes later, Luis Scola and David West exchanged shoves and elbows.
From the start, the Rockets seemed in control. The Hornets largest lead was two points, and when the Rockets defense took over, the visitors began to pull away.
The Rockets defense might have seemed to be in control and was protecting the paint as it rarely has against the Hornets, particularly once the Rockets took away the lobs to Chandler.
Less than three minutes into the second quarter, the Hornets were within 31-28 after Hilton Armstrong and Jannero Pargo hit consecutive jumpers. But by then, their halfcourt offense had begun drifting toward nothing but jumpers.
For the next eight minutes, when the Hornets shot, they missed, clanging 12 straight until David West followed a missed Stojakovic 3 to finally put the ball in the basket.
The Hornets’ 11 second-quarter points were their fewest ever in a second quarter. They made just 3 of 18 shots in the quarter, getting just one basket in the paint.
Then just as the Rockets began the game with an offensive roll, started the second half even more impressively.
McGrady, who had made 6 of 11 shots in the first half, continued to attack the basket to prevent a falloff like the one he had in the second half the night before. Yao began getting the ball more consistently inside. Most of all, the Rockets did not let up until there was not a hint of remaining doubt.
: Rockets down host Hornets for 11th straight win
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
NEW ORLEANS — Before Friday, it was a winning streak.
It was long and impressive, enough to force pages in the Rockets record book to be flipped back to the championship glory days. But now, it is something else, something greater.
The Rockets' run has become a steamroller with the team demolishing a swath through the schedule and a 100-80 destruction of the front-running New Orleans Hornets ending remaining questions about the validity of the roll.
The Rockets might have been the NBA’s hottest team, but the Hornets were still sitting atop the Western Conference standings, having won eight consecutive home games by an average of 20 points.
Then the Rockets rolled into town for the second half of a back-to-back and blew the Hornets off their court. The Rockets pushed their road winning streak to a franchise-record 10th game and their winning streak overall to 11, their longest since the start of the 1993-94 season.
Of all the wins stacked one atop another, this was the most impressive, coming against a Hornets teams with a five-game winning streak. In the past 10 games, the Hornets had knocked off the Suns, Spurs, Nuggets and Wednesday against the Mavericks, and had won seven of nine games against the Rockets.
But the Rockets dominated. They led by as much as 27, held an eighth team in nine games to fewer than 90 points and did not allow the Hornets to reach 40 percent shooting until the final minutes, long after New Orleans coach Byron Scott had cleared his bench.
Unlike some of their other wins against the stronger teams in the streak, the Rockets got huge games from their stars with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming scoring easily.
McGrady finished with 34 points, making 14 of 26 shots and adding six assists. Yao had 28, making 12 of 21 shots, with 14 rebounds.
From the start, there was a big-game feel. The game drew 17,714 to New Orleans Arena in just the third Hornets sellout and their largest crowd of the season.
In the first quarter, Rafer Alston and Tyson Chandler squared off briefly, each drawing technical fouls. Minutes later, Luis Scola and David West exchanged shoves and elbows.
From the start, the Rockets seemed in control. The Hornets largest lead was two points, and when the Rockets defense took over, the visitors began to pull away.
The Rockets defense might have seemed to be in control and was protecting the paint as it rarely has against the Hornets, particularly once the Rockets took away the lobs to Chandler.
Less than three minutes into the second quarter, the Hornets were within 31-28 after Hilton Armstrong and Jannero Pargo hit consecutive jumpers. But by then, their halfcourt offense had begun drifting toward nothing but jumpers.
For the next eight minutes, when the Hornets shot, they missed, clanging 12 straight until David West followed a missed Stojakovic 3 to finally put the ball in the basket.
The Hornets’ 11 second-quarter points were their fewest ever in a second quarter. They made just 3 of 18 shots in the quarter, getting just one basket in the paint.
Then just as the Rockets began the game with an offensive roll, started the second half even more impressively.
McGrady, who had made 6 of 11 shots in the first half, continued to attack the basket to prevent a falloff like the one he had in the second half the night before. Yao began getting the ball more consistently inside. Most of all, the Rockets did not let up until there was not a hint of remaining doubt.
