Hottest team in the league with 22 straight *updated* Rockets
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15 straight. Rockets are doing the damn thing. Woohoo!
Just gotta keep it going during this tough stretch.
Just gotta keep it going during this tough stretch.
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ROCKETS 103, NUGGETS 89
March-ing on
Rockets hit fifth in West with first win of the month
Any questions?
There wasn't a Wizard in sight. There were no Bulls or Grizzlies. The February page of the calendar — reminder of a dazzling month though it was — had been torn away and trashed.
Yet nothing changed.
The Rockets stepped up to a meeting with the Denver Nuggets and blew them out, too, winning 103-89 on Sunday night to match the franchise record of 15 consecutive victories.
In their third game since losing Yao Ming for the season, the Rockets also extended to six their club record of consecutive double-digit wins (by an average of 17.5 points).
"We're still a good team, man," guard Tracy McGrady said after the Rockets' 10th consecutive home victory gave them their longest home winning streak since the 1993-94 season that produced the most recent 15-game run. "What more (have) we got to show you all? We're a good team.
"We believe. We don't care about what anybody says about us outside this locker room. As a group, we believe, and we know how good we are, and we're showing it. We're a focused group, a group that understands how to win ballgames (and is) playing great defensively.
"What more do we got to do?"
The Rockets left little undone in what was supposed to be another test. They took the team expected to challenge their presumed tenuous hold on a playoff spot and ran it off their floor, building their lead on Denver to four games.
With that, the Rockets were looking in the other direction. Just two weeks after they left the All-Star break in ninth place (with the tiebreaker), they moved past Dallas and into fifth (with the tiebreaker edge over Phoenix).
The Rockets also are closer to the Spurs and Lakers at the top of the standings, separated by 2 1/2 games, than they are from the ninth-place Nuggets.
"We're having fun," said Shane Battier, who had his season high of 20 points with Yao out, just as his previous season high of 18 came with McGrady out. "We are playing together as a team, and it's been fun."
Battier held Carmelo Anthony to 7-of-17 shooting and seven points shy of his 26-point average. Luis Scola and Carl Landry combined to make 14 of 26 shots for 30 points, with Scola getting a season-high 14 rebounds.
Iverson struggles
With the Rockets holding a 10th team in the past 13 games to fewer than 90 points, the Nuggets made just 41.8 percent of their shots. Allen Iverson, who had averaged 30 points in his previous six games, made just seven of 22 shots for 17 points.
But in some ways, the win did require the Rockets to pass a test different than the others in the winning streak. For the first time since the first half three games ago, they trailed, and for the first time in weeks, they struggled.
The Rockets started the game 2-of-10 shooting and had seven turnovers in the first quarter. The Nuggets' defense, switching on all screens, had solved the Rockets' offense without Yao.
Find a way to win
"We don't know if it was their best shot or us turning the ball over so much," said Rafer Alston, who had 16 points and eight assists with just one turnover. "It was deceiving. We were turning it over, and they were running it down our throats.
"We just keep proving to ourselves we have a lot in us. Every game, people count us out and say that will be the game to end the streak, but we dig deep and find something inside ourselves to pull each other together."
The Rockets recovered to take a slim lead and then, with four minutes remaining before halftime, took off.
They pushed the lead to 50-40 by halftime, then pounced to start the second half as they had at the start of most games, quickly taking a 17-point lead.
"We have that look in each other's eye when we come into the locker room before the game," Alston said. "We have that will to compete with the best of them.
"We're showing a lot of character. We understand the season is on the line in a tough Western Conference. We have no room for error. If we have to win the rest of the way, then that's what we have to do."
With 23 regular-season games left, that would seem out of reach. Then again, so did this.
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
March-ing on
Rockets hit fifth in West with first win of the month
Any questions?
There wasn't a Wizard in sight. There were no Bulls or Grizzlies. The February page of the calendar — reminder of a dazzling month though it was — had been torn away and trashed.
Yet nothing changed.
The Rockets stepped up to a meeting with the Denver Nuggets and blew them out, too, winning 103-89 on Sunday night to match the franchise record of 15 consecutive victories.
In their third game since losing Yao Ming for the season, the Rockets also extended to six their club record of consecutive double-digit wins (by an average of 17.5 points).
"We're still a good team, man," guard Tracy McGrady said after the Rockets' 10th consecutive home victory gave them their longest home winning streak since the 1993-94 season that produced the most recent 15-game run. "What more (have) we got to show you all? We're a good team.
"We believe. We don't care about what anybody says about us outside this locker room. As a group, we believe, and we know how good we are, and we're showing it. We're a focused group, a group that understands how to win ballgames (and is) playing great defensively.
"What more do we got to do?"
The Rockets left little undone in what was supposed to be another test. They took the team expected to challenge their presumed tenuous hold on a playoff spot and ran it off their floor, building their lead on Denver to four games.
With that, the Rockets were looking in the other direction. Just two weeks after they left the All-Star break in ninth place (with the tiebreaker), they moved past Dallas and into fifth (with the tiebreaker edge over Phoenix).
The Rockets also are closer to the Spurs and Lakers at the top of the standings, separated by 2 1/2 games, than they are from the ninth-place Nuggets.
"We're having fun," said Shane Battier, who had his season high of 20 points with Yao out, just as his previous season high of 18 came with McGrady out. "We are playing together as a team, and it's been fun."
Battier held Carmelo Anthony to 7-of-17 shooting and seven points shy of his 26-point average. Luis Scola and Carl Landry combined to make 14 of 26 shots for 30 points, with Scola getting a season-high 14 rebounds.
Iverson struggles
With the Rockets holding a 10th team in the past 13 games to fewer than 90 points, the Nuggets made just 41.8 percent of their shots. Allen Iverson, who had averaged 30 points in his previous six games, made just seven of 22 shots for 17 points.
But in some ways, the win did require the Rockets to pass a test different than the others in the winning streak. For the first time since the first half three games ago, they trailed, and for the first time in weeks, they struggled.
The Rockets started the game 2-of-10 shooting and had seven turnovers in the first quarter. The Nuggets' defense, switching on all screens, had solved the Rockets' offense without Yao.
Find a way to win
"We don't know if it was their best shot or us turning the ball over so much," said Rafer Alston, who had 16 points and eight assists with just one turnover. "It was deceiving. We were turning it over, and they were running it down our throats.
"We just keep proving to ourselves we have a lot in us. Every game, people count us out and say that will be the game to end the streak, but we dig deep and find something inside ourselves to pull each other together."
The Rockets recovered to take a slim lead and then, with four minutes remaining before halftime, took off.
They pushed the lead to 50-40 by halftime, then pounced to start the second half as they had at the start of most games, quickly taking a 17-point lead.
"We have that look in each other's eye when we come into the locker room before the game," Alston said. "We have that will to compete with the best of them.
"We're showing a lot of character. We understand the season is on the line in a tough Western Conference. We have no room for error. If we have to win the rest of the way, then that's what we have to do."
With 23 regular-season games left, that would seem out of reach. Then again, so did this.
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
MC KAos
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Mavs Man;1982143 said:
ahh, i hope not, i love yao ming and that would be sad. although rick aldeman is a good offensive coach and he might be running new things now that yao is gone that could make them better offensively, at least for a little bit
thekavorka
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i don't see how it'd be the ewing theory. the team did win like 12 or 13 in a row with him.
ok. if they make it to the finals, we can call it the yao theory.
ok. if they make it to the finals, we can call it the yao theory.
MC KAos
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DFWJC;1982808 said:thekavorka;1965442 said:I think Rockets have a better chance at making the finals than any team besides San Antonio or Phoenix.
NO CHANCE
in his defense he did say that last week before the yao injury and before the suns started playing terribly. i still think its a bit early to write off the suns, but they are getting close
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16 is looking likely right about now.
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The interesting thing about this streak is that when Yao, depression settled over the city. Unfortunately for the depressed fans, the team kept winning. So, yes, it is very exciting.zrinkill;1987436 said:
My expectations are still to at least win a series. However, they're really touting the team now, because the last time the Rockets went on a streak this long, they won it all. Not saying they will, but that's the hype that's building with the fans and local media.
Fun times in H-town.
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Rookie Watch
• I can't figure out which stat is more impressive: Carl Landry getting 28 percent of his shot attempts from dunks (Dwight Howard is at 31 percent) or the Rockets going 21-5 in games he has played in (19-1 in games in which he played at least 12 minutes).
• Landry's stats are impressive, but consider this: His teammate, Luis Scola, has shot 50 percent or better in 14 of his last 18 games. His worst performances in that span were a pair of 4-for-10 nights in which he still finished with double-doubles in both games. He averaged 12 ppg in that stretch and the Rockets lost only one of those games. Wow, that is efficiency.
Top 10 rookies
Here are my top 10 rookies 18 weeks into the season:
(Previous rank in parentheses)
1. Al Horford, Hawks (1)
2. Kevin Durant, Sonics (2)
3. Luis Scola, Rockets (3)
4. Al Thornton, Clippers (5)
5. Jamario Moon, Raptors (4)
6. Thaddeus Young, Sixers (7)
7. Carl Landry, Rockets (NR)
8. Juan Carlos Navarro, Grizzlies (8)
9. Sean Williams, Nets (6)
10. Mike Conley, Grizzlies (10)
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=thorpe_david&page=Rookies-080305
• I can't figure out which stat is more impressive: Carl Landry getting 28 percent of his shot attempts from dunks (Dwight Howard is at 31 percent) or the Rockets going 21-5 in games he has played in (19-1 in games in which he played at least 12 minutes).
• Landry's stats are impressive, but consider this: His teammate, Luis Scola, has shot 50 percent or better in 14 of his last 18 games. His worst performances in that span were a pair of 4-for-10 nights in which he still finished with double-doubles in both games. He averaged 12 ppg in that stretch and the Rockets lost only one of those games. Wow, that is efficiency.
Top 10 rookies
Here are my top 10 rookies 18 weeks into the season:
(Previous rank in parentheses)
1. Al Horford, Hawks (1)
2. Kevin Durant, Sonics (2)
3. Luis Scola, Rockets (3)
4. Al Thornton, Clippers (5)
5. Jamario Moon, Raptors (4)
6. Thaddeus Young, Sixers (7)
7. Carl Landry, Rockets (NR)
8. Juan Carlos Navarro, Grizzlies (8)
9. Sean Williams, Nets (6)
10. Mike Conley, Grizzlies (10)
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=thorpe_david&page=Rookies-080305