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Yao vs. Warriors - 3/21/03

Although he hits them in practice all the time, Yao expresses his joy after making his first NBA 3-pointer to clinch a victory at Golden State Friday night, 117-107. (AP photo)

In a game that was pre-labeled by Golden State's broadcast crew "the biggest game of the year" since the Warriors are chasing the Rockets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Rockets fended off a late charge by the Warriors in Oakland for a 117-107 win. Although things got sloppy in the fourth quarter and they almost blew a 16-point lead, the Rockets made the plays down the stretch to win in front of one of the most boisterous and largest crowds of the season (and the largest in Golden State's franchise history). As fragile as the Rockets' psyche can get when an opposing team's crowd gets rowdy, the Rockets held on to win thanks in large part to Yao.

Unlike their previous game against the Blazers (and others), the Rockets started Yao at the beginning of the fourth quarter rather than bringing him in at the 6 or 7-minute mark. The fact he started the fourth quarter with the team holding a 16-point lead was even more surprising. It appears in order to set him up to play the entire fourth quarter, Yao rested for all of the second quarter. If intentional, it looks like interim coach Larry Smith's unique deployment of Yao was brilliant, and we endorse it all the way. Although Yao checked out of the game in the fourth quarter for a few minutes (we believe because of some temporary hobbling that he ultimately shook off), we like the idea of resting him so he can start the fourth quarter.

In addition, the Rockets rectified (hopefully permanently) the problem they had against the Blazers by not getting him the ball in crunch time (see Detailed Yao Analysis below). It will be interesting to see if Smith continues to deviate from coach Rudy T's deployment of Yao.

By getting the ball late in the game, Yao was especially clutch by going to the line 6 times in the final quarter and draining them all. This was sorely needed since the Rockets had to squeeze out every point they could to win it. He also hit the first 3-pointer of his NBA career, ripping the cords with under a minute remaining to put the game away. As someone who has watched almost all 68 Rocket games this year, that shot is one of the most memorable I've seen. Yao finished with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. What the boxscore doesn't reveal is Yao's settling influence on the team. When the Rockets were struggling, he was there to get a key rebound, important put-back, intimidation or block.

It's a cliché, but this victory was also a team effort. The Rockets had all 5 starters in double-figures: Yao, Griffin (12), Francis (13), Mobley (26, including 4-for-5 from three-point land), and James Posey (21). Kelvin Cato was close with 9 points, eight of them coming in the second quarter as he gave Yao a rest. Collectively, these 6 players went 37-for-70 from the field (53%). Francis also was huge in breaking down defenders on wicked crossovers, and racking up a triple double of 13 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.

Boy-oh-boy that Boykins!

Amazingly, 5'5" guard Earl Boykins lit up the Rockets defense by going 8-for-9 from the field, scoring 14 of his team's points in a row (and finishing with 22 points overall), although he only averaged 4.7 points per game over his past 6 games. With his scoring, he kept the Warriors in the game. How the little guy can score so many points against players a foot (or two) taller than himself is incredible. Two high-arching shots he made over Yao almost brought the house down, as you can imagine.

Next up

On Sunday evening the Rockets go into another hornet's nest of an arena: Sacramento. Although they had a sweet victory against the Warriors Friday night, the Rockets will have to be on their "A" game Sunday against the Kings if they are going to have any chance of coming up with a "W."

Detailed Yao Analysis
vs. Golden State Warriors 3/21/03
brought to you by John and Jeff

1st quarter - Yao starts the game.

10:08 From the upper left side, Warriors' point guard Gilbert Arenas curls off a screen and shakes-and-bakes to his left and gains a step on Yao. Arenas, thinking he's created enough space between himself and Yao, goes in for the reverse layup on the right side. Little does Arenas know that Yao has him set up! Yao easily swats the reverse, and the ball ricochets off the backboard, and the Rockets get the loose ball!

Golden State Warriors' analyst Jim Barnett comments "Now I can count on one hand, the number of times that I've seen a big man cover both sides of the rim, but that is exactly what Yao Ming did there."

7:05 Steve Francis feeds Yao the ball at the outer left edge. Francis cuts baseline, and Yao makes a fantastic fake shovel pass to Francis that totally fools Warriors' center Erick Dampier! Now that Yao has created a bit of space, Yao turns to his left and shoots a 13-footer that hits nothing but net! Yao has 2 points on 1-for-2 shooting and the Rockets lead 11-9.

5:58 Intimidation From the right side, Gilbert Arenas pump fakes drawing two Rockets to him, and then makes a nifty pass to the middle of the paint to Warriors' forward Antawn Jamison. Jamison has a good look at the basket, but when he sees Yao, he must have got a little weak in the arm because Jamison airballs a floater!!!

Warriors' play-by-play commentator Bill Fitzgerald states, "Yao Ming changed that shot and he never even jumped."

5:27 Yao is posting up Erick Dampier on the right side. Yao makes a small pump fake, dribbles once toward the baseline, then quickly spins away from the basline, pump fakes again, and Erick Dampier bites on the fake and hops into the air. With his man out of position, Yao shows his outside touch again and drains the 10-footer with a beautiful flick of the wrist! Yao is now 2-for-3 from the field and has 4 points and a block. The Warriors trail 18-11.

5:03 Golden State Warrior Troy Murphy gets the ball on the right post and begins to back Eddie Griffin down. Murphy pump fakes, which makes Griffin leave the ground, putting himself out of position. Even though Griffin is in a bad spot, Eddie is able to partially tangle up Murphy. Murphy puts up an off-balance shot, and Yao is there to stuff it back in his face (literally!). After bouncing off Murphy's visage, the ball jumbles around a bit, and the Rockets come away with the loose ball. Yao's defensive presence is really being felt tonight!

4:28 Great defense! Erick Dampier drives through the lane, but Yao has the gumption and innate desire to slide over and get a charging foul called on Dampier! Although the Oakland crowd boos its disapproval, it looks like Yao was is in perfect position with both feet outside the 'restricted zone' (semi-circle). Yao is all over the place!

3:38 Yao sees an opportunity to cut into the paint unimpeded. Stevie Franchise, near the 3-point line on the left side, adeptly spots Yao being open and HURLS a rising pass to the heart of the paint past Erick Dampier. Yao stretches with his arms up high and does a good job of grabbing the bullet pass. With no one around him, Yao goes up and dunk it in one-handed. Great pass by Francis! At that height and speed only Yao had a shot at catching that pass! Yao is 3-for-5 from the field with 6 points. Rockets lead 20-13.

0:28.8 On a fast break, Cuttino Mobley cuts through the right lane and makes a beautiful pass that files right between two Warriors! Yao, the recipient of Mobley's pass underneath the basket, fumbles the ball but recovers nicely and slams in another one-hander! Nice job by Mobley to reward the Big Man for hustling up the court! The Rockets lead 27-20.

2nd quarter - After Moochie Norris ended the first quarter at the buzzer with a running bankshot, the Rockets lead 29-22. Yao had 8 points (4-for-6 from the field), 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks! Talk about production! Yao gets a breather as Cato starts the second quarter.

0:01.6 With only a few seconds left, Mobley dribbles towards the upper right 3-point line and shoots a trey that's a couple of feet away from the line! Mobley hits the last-second shot, and the Rockets end the second quarter 53-48!

Halftime - The Rockets lead 53-48. Although the Rockets shot well in the first half (over 50 percent), their 13 turnovers led to several fast break opportunities for the Warriors. Yao ends the first half with 8 points on 4-for-6 shooting, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Besides Yao, both James Posey (4-for-5 with 9 points and 3 assists) and Kelvin Cato (4-for-7 with 8 points and 2 blocks) also had productive first halves.

3rd quarter - Yao starts the third quarter.

10:03 Off a broken fast break, Steve Francis accidentally runs into Yao under the basket and trips and falls to the ground. Francis' layup ends up being short, but luckily, Yao is able to vacuum it up and put it away with a powerful two-handed jam! Yao is now shooting 5-for-7 from the field and has 10 points! The Rockets lead 57-52.

1:47 Antawn Jamison gets by two Rockets and heads for the middle of the paint. Yao steps up to confront him and for the second time, Jamison tries to cast up a floater over Yao but he flings up another airball! Yao seems to have Jamison's number! The refs gave Yao credit for a block on this play, but on replay, it's debatable whether or not Yao touched the ball. As usual, we follow the YMM policy on this issue...in other words, we'll take that block stat!

0:59.3 Intimidation More intimidation! The Yao intimidation factor seems to be contagious! The Warriors' star Jason Richardson receives a backdoor pass right under the basket. With James Posey late, Richardson has an uncontested layup, but with Yao lurking nearby, Richardson misses a point-blank layup!

Golden State Warriors' analyst Jim Barnett explains, "Yao Ming. That's the difference inside. It makes you think...you wonder where he is. Will you feel his presence? Will he block your shot? Can he get there?"

4th quarter - Thanks to the strong third quarter play by Posey (12 points) and Mobley (12 points), the Rockets lead 88-72. After three quarters of play, Yao has 10 points and is 5-for-9 from the field. We are ecstatic to see that Yao is starting the fourth quarter! It's Yao time, baby!

11:44 Warriors' rookie guard/forward Mike Dunleavy weaves his way into the paint, and shoots an off-balance 13-foot jumper. But out of nowhere, Yao leaps, blocks and literally LAUNCHES the ball back! Unfortunately, the Warriors' amazing Earl Boykins gets the loose ball at the three-point line, uses his speed and quickness on Steve Francis to get to the baseline, and ends up hitting a baseline 16-footer. Can you believe someone "outquicked" Steve Francis? Earl is THAT quick!

11:25 From the left side, James Posey passes to Yao at the left edge post. Yao, who dribbles once, turns to his left and swishes the turnaround 12-footer! Yao has 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting! The Rockets lead 90-74.

9:17 From the right elbow of the free throw line, Cat Mobley takes a 15-foot jumper and misses off the back of the rim. Guess who's there to cleanup! Yao collects the offensive board, and "snap-slams" it home (a new phrase we would like to coin for the "snap" and quickness that Yao uses on many of his dunks)! That's four dunks for Yao in this game so far! Yao is now 7-for-12 with 14 points. The Rockets lead 96-80.

8:55 Free
Throws On the upper right 3-point region, Cat Mobley freezes Mike Dunleavy and drives to the hole. As three Warriors zero in on Mobley (Dunleavy from behind), Mobley attempts a reverse that misses off the backboard. Yao is there for the cleanup monster dunk, but is fouled by Warriors' block specialist Adonal Foyle. Yao drains both free throws, making it a 98-82 Rockets lead.

7:25 Assist Yao gets the ball in his favorite post position fromm James Posey, who cuts through the paint with Gilbert Arenas trailing him. With an overhead flip, Yao threads a perfect pass to JP who lays it in! Yao records his first assist of the game. Rockets lead 102-86.

6:48 Yao checks out of the game for Cato. We believe it's because of a slight limp that Yao has incurred. Yao leaves with 16 points (7-for-12 from the field, 2-for-2 from the line). The Rockets lead 102-90.

3:35 The Warriors have moved dangerously close after cutting the Rockets lead to 103-95. We're overjoyed to see that Larry Smith inserts Yao back in for Cato.

3:09 Free
Throws On a left side post-play, Yao smartly pump fakes, baits Adonal Foyle into the air and draws the foul while attempting to shoot! Clutch play by Yao as the Warriors were on a mini 3-0 run. Yao hits both free throws (18 points) despite the Oakland Arena crowd screaming at the top of its lungs! The Rockets lead 105-98.

2:51 Free
Throws The Warriors are only down by 5 points! On the left side, Yao is jockeying for post position against Adonal Foyle. The whistle blows and Foyle gets charged with a pushing foul. With ice in his veins, Yao steps up to the line and calmly drains both free throws! Yao's 'throws' extend the Rockets' lead to 107-100.

0:42 With the Rockets up by 8 points, they only need one more score to put the game away. The Rockets play keep-away from the Warriors, and Steve Francis ultimately gets the ball and drives to the basket. Sensing a potential block by a Warrior if he tries to go up for a layup, Steve flips a no-look over-the-head pass out to the three-point line. Guess who's there?

Yes, it's Yao. He catches the bounce pass behind the 3-point line. Rather than pass off as he normally would do with an abundant amount of time (7 seconds) on the shot clock being the team player he is, Yao seizes the opportunity. With perfect form he lines up, launches...and NOTHING BUT NYLON! YAO SCORES THE FIRST 3-POINTER OF HIS NBA CAREER! The Rocket bench absolutely goes bonkers! Towels are whipping and guys are jumping up-and-down in the biggest celebration we've seen in a long time. And Yao himself belts out a big "WHOOOO!" and runs back up court with the biggest smile we have seen from him ever! And we bet it's not because the glory this shot has brought to himself, but because he sees how happy he has made his teammates! Rockets lead 113-102.

0:00 The Rockets defeat the Warriors 117-107. With the Suns' victory over the Washington Wizards, the Rockets and Suns remain tied for the final seed of the Western Conference playoffs. Yao had a stellar night with 23 points (8-for-14 from the field including his first-ever 3-pointer, and 6-for-6 from the free throw line), 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 4 blocks!!!

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1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
10:08		From the upper left side, Warriors' point guard Gilbert Arenas curls off a screen and shakes-and-bakes to his left and gains a step on Yao. Arenas, thinking he's created enough space between himself and Yao, goes in for the reverse layup on the right side. Little does Arenas know that Yao has him set up! Yao easily swats the reverse, and the ball ricochets off the backboard, and the Rockets get the loose ball! Golden State Warriors' analyst Jim Barnett comments "Now I can count on one hand, the number of times that I've seen a big man cover both sides of the rim, but that is exactly what Yao Ming did there."
7:05		Steve Francis feeds Yao the ball at the outer left edge. Francis cuts baseline, and Yao makes a fantastic fake shovel pass to Francis that totally fools Warriors' center Erick Dampier! Now that Yao has created a bit of space, Yao turns to his left and shoots a 13-footer that hits nothing but net! Yao has 2 points on 1-for-2 shooting and the Rockets lead 11-9.
5:58	Intimidation	From the right side, Gilbert Arenas pump fakes drawing two Rockets to him, and then makes a nifty pass to the middle of the paint to Warriors' forward Antawn Jamison. Jamison has a good look at the basket, but when he sees Yao, he must have got a little weak in the arm because Jamison airballs a floater!!! *Warriors' play-by-play commentator Bill Fitzgerald states, "Yao Ming changed that shot and he never even jumped."*
5:27		Yao is posting up Erick Dampier on the right side. Yao makes a small pump fake, dribbles once toward the baseline, then quickly spins away from the basline, pump fakes again, and Erick Dampier bites on the fake and hops into the air. With his man out of position, Yao shows his outside touch again and drains the 10-footer with a beautiful flick of the wrist! Yao is now 2-for-3 from the field and has 4 points and a block. The Warriors trail 18-11.
5:03		Golden State Warrior Troy Murphy gets the ball on the right post and begins to back Eddie Griffin down. Murphy pump fakes, which makes Griffin leave the ground, putting himself out of position. Even though Griffin is in a bad spot, Eddie is able to partially tangle up Murphy. Murphy puts up an off-balance shot, and Yao is there to stuff it back in his face (literally!). After bouncing off Murphy's visage, the ball jumbles around a bit, and the Rockets come away with the loose ball. Yao's defensive presence is really being felt tonight!
4:28	Great defense!	Erick Dampier drives through the lane, but Yao has the gumption and innate desire to slide over and get a charging foul called on Dampier! Although the Oakland crowd boos its disapproval, it looks like Yao was is in perfect position with both feet outside the 'restricted zone' (semi-circle). Yao is all over the place!
3:38		Yao sees an opportunity to cut into the paint unimpeded. Stevie Franchise, near the 3-point line on the left side, adeptly spots Yao being open and HURLS a rising pass to the heart of the paint past Erick Dampier. Yao stretches with his arms up high and does a good job of grabbing the bullet pass. With no one around him, Yao goes up and dunk it in one-handed. Great pass by Francis! At that height and speed only Yao had a shot at catching that pass! Yao is 3-for-5 from the field with 6 points. Rockets lead 20-13.
0:28.8		On a fast break, Cuttino Mobley cuts through the right lane and makes a beautiful pass that files right between two Warriors! Yao, the recipient of Mobley's pass underneath the basket, fumbles the ball but recovers nicely and slams in another one-hander! Nice job by Mobley to reward the Big Man for hustling up the court! The Rockets lead 27-20.
2nd quarter - After Moochie Norris ended the first quarter at the buzzer with a running bankshot, the Rockets lead 29-22. Yao had 8 points (4-for-6 from the field), 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks! Talk about production! Yao gets a breather as Cato starts the second quarter.
0:01.6		With only a few seconds left, Mobley dribbles towards the upper right 3-point line and shoots a trey that's a couple of feet away from the line! Mobley hits the last-second shot, and the Rockets end the second quarter 53-48!
Halftime - The Rockets lead 53-48. Although the Rockets shot well in the first half (over 50 percent), their 13 turnovers led to several fast break opportunities for the Warriors. Yao ends the first half with 8 points on 4-for-6 shooting, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Besides Yao, both James Posey (4-for-5 with 9 points and 3 assists) and Kelvin Cato (4-for-7 with 8 points and 2 blocks) also had productive first halves.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the third quarter.
10:03		Off a broken fast break, Steve Francis accidentally runs into Yao under the basket and trips and falls to the ground. Francis' layup ends up being short, but luckily, Yao is able to vacuum it up and put it away with a powerful two-handed jam! Yao is now shooting 5-for-7 from the field and has 10 points! The Rockets lead 57-52.
1:47		Antawn Jamison gets by two Rockets and heads for the middle of the paint. Yao steps up to confront him and for the second time, Jamison tries to cast up a floater over Yao but he flings up another airball! Yao seems to have Jamison's number! The refs gave Yao credit for a block on this play, but on replay, it's debatable whether or not Yao touched the ball. As usual, we follow the YMM policy on this issue...in other words, we'll take that block stat!
0:59.3	Intimidation	More intimidation! The Yao intimidation factor seems to be contagious! The Warriors' star Jason Richardson receives a backdoor pass right under the basket. With James Posey late, Richardson has an uncontested layup, but with Yao lurking nearby, Richardson misses a point-blank layup! Golden State Warriors' analyst Jim Barnett explains, "Yao Ming. That's the difference inside. It makes you think...you wonder where he is. Will you feel his presence? Will he block your shot? Can he get there?"
4th quarter - Thanks to the strong third quarter play by Posey (12 points) and Mobley (12 points), the Rockets lead 88-72. After three quarters of play, Yao has 10 points and is 5-for-9 from the field. We are ecstatic to see that Yao is starting the fourth quarter! It's Yao time, baby!
11:44		Warriors' rookie guard/forward Mike Dunleavy weaves his way into the paint, and shoots an off-balance 13-foot jumper. But out of nowhere, Yao leaps, blocks and literally LAUNCHES the ball back! Unfortunately, the Warriors' amazing Earl Boykins gets the loose ball at the three-point line, uses his speed and quickness on Steve Francis to get to the baseline, and ends up hitting a baseline 16-footer. Can you believe someone "outquicked" Steve Francis? Earl is THAT quick!
11:25		From the left side, James Posey passes to Yao at the left edge post. Yao, who dribbles once, turns to his left and swishes the turnaround 12-footer! Yao has 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting! The Rockets lead 90-74.
9:17		From the right elbow of the free throw line, Cat Mobley takes a 15-foot jumper and misses off the back of the rim. Guess who's there to cleanup! Yao collects the offensive board, and "snap-slams" it home (a new phrase we would like to coin for the "snap" and quickness that Yao uses on many of his dunks)! That's four dunks for Yao in this game so far! Yao is now 7-for-12 with 14 points. The Rockets lead 96-80.
8:55	Free Throws	On the upper right 3-point region, Cat Mobley freezes Mike Dunleavy and drives to the hole. As three Warriors zero in on Mobley (Dunleavy from behind), Mobley attempts a reverse that misses off the backboard. Yao is there for the cleanup monster dunk, but is fouled by Warriors' block specialist Adonal Foyle. Yao drains both free throws, making it a 98-82 Rockets lead.
7:25	Assist	Yao gets the ball in his favorite post position fromm James Posey, who cuts through the paint with Gilbert Arenas trailing him. With an overhead flip, Yao threads a perfect pass to JP who lays it in! Yao records his first assist of the game. Rockets lead 102-86.
6:48		Yao checks out of the game for Cato. We believe it's because of a slight limp that Yao has incurred. Yao leaves with 16 points (7-for-12 from the field, 2-for-2 from the line). The Rockets lead 102-90.
3:35		The Warriors have moved dangerously close after cutting the Rockets lead to 103-95. We're overjoyed to see that Larry Smith inserts Yao back in for Cato.
3:09	Free Throws	On a left side post-play, Yao smartly pump fakes, baits Adonal Foyle into the air and draws the foul while attempting to shoot! Clutch play by Yao as the Warriors were on a mini 3-0 run. Yao hits both free throws (18 points) despite the Oakland Arena crowd screaming at the top of its lungs! The Rockets lead 105-98.
2:51	Free Throws	The Warriors are only down by 5 points! On the left side, Yao is jockeying for post position against Adonal Foyle. The whistle blows and Foyle gets charged with a pushing foul. With ice in his veins, Yao steps up to the line and calmly drains both free throws! Yao's 'throws' extend the Rockets' lead to 107-100.
0:42		With the Rockets up by 8 points, they only need one more score to put the game away. The Rockets play keep-away from the Warriors, and Steve Francis ultimately gets the ball and drives to the basket. Sensing a potential block by a Warrior if he tries to go up for a layup, Steve flips a no-look over-the-head pass out to the three-point line. Guess who's there? Yes, it's Yao. He catches the bounce pass behind the 3-point line. Rather than pass off as he normally would do with an abundant amount of time (7 seconds) on the shot clock being the team player he is, Yao seizes the opportunity. With perfect form he lines up, launches...and NOTHING BUT NYLON! YAO SCORES THE FIRST 3-POINTER OF HIS NBA CAREER! The Rocket bench absolutely goes bonkers! Towels are whipping and guys are jumping up-and-down in the biggest celebration we've seen in a long time. And Yao himself belts out a big "WHOOOO!" and runs back up court with the biggest smile we have seen from him ever! And we bet it's not because the glory this shot has brought to himself, but because he sees how happy he has made his teammates! Rockets lead 113-102.
0:00		The Rockets defeat the Warriors 117-107. With the Suns' victory over the Washington Wizards, the Rockets and Suns remain tied for the final seed of the Western Conference playoffs. Yao had a stellar night with 23 points (8-for-14 from the field including his first-ever 3-pointer, and 6-for-6 from the free throw line), 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 4 blocks!!!