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Yao vs. Bucks - 4/02/03

Yao is double-teamed by Milwaukee's Ervin Johnson and Toni Kukoc in the third quarter Wednesday night. Despite scoring 12 points in the first quarter, Yao only got to take 3 shots the rest way. The Rockets fumbled away the game to the Bucks 106-99. (AP photo)

The Rockets teased their fans Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks by taking a 30-20 lead in the first quarter, extending that lead to 13 points in the second quarter. However, they gave up the lead once again and collapsed to eventually lose 106-99 in Milwaukee.

Yao was outstanding in the first quarter by shooting 4-for-5 from the field and scoring 12 points, but the same disturbing pattern of his teammates and coach not exploiting his dominance continued in Milwaukee. Yao ended up taking only THREE shots the rest of the way. His teammates did try to get him the ball on occasion after the first quarter, but several bad passes kept him from getting the ball.

Those errant passes were just some of the 22 turnovers the Rockets coughed up, and some of the other turnovers contributed to the Bucks going on a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for good, 93-80. All of these TOs, along with a 16-5 offensive rebounding disadvantage to the Bucks, were instrumental in allowing Milwaukee to take 20 more shots than the Rockets. It also erased the advantage Houston had in field goal percentage (51.5% to 42%). Two painful turnovers come to mind: at the end of BOTH the 2nd and 3rd quarters, Rocket point guard Moochie Norris turned the ball over as a result of overdribbling, which he is prone to do. Embarrassing.

Yao did a good job of getting Buck centers Joel Pryzbilla and Ervin Johnson in foul trouble, which sent them to the bench early (Johnson even fouled out). Their foul troubles prompted the Bucks to bring in rookie center Dan Gadzuric, and even have forward Toni Kukoc guard Yao. However, despite these mismatches against Yao, the Rockets didn't seize the golden opportunity. In total, Yao scored 15 points (4-of-8 shooting, 7-of-8 from the line), and had 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

So now the Rockets are 1 ½ games behind Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, and they have lost 4 out of their last 5 games. This is about as low as the Rockets state-of-mind can get, knowing that the playoff goal they have strived for all season is slipping away fast with no momentum behind them. It will be interesting to see what happens in Philadelphia on Friday night with their backs against the wall. The Rockets have given their fans no reason to expect a victory. And it will be ironic if former Rocket Kenny Thomas, now playing for the 76ers, lights up his former teammates like he did Orlando in his last game (24 points on 10-for-16 shooting, and 20 rebounds).

One final observation before ending this summary: Although Glen Rice is a great 3-point shooter, apparently the strategy of acquiring him for his veteran leadership so he can help teach the young guys how to win big games has not helped much. That's what the Rockets need most--someone who can get into their heads and instill poise and confidence to win big, close games.

Detailed Yao Analysis
vs. Milwaukee Bucks 4/3/03

1st quarter - Yao starts the game.

11:29 Steve Francis passes to Yao who is a couple of steps away from the middle of the left edge of the lane. As Yao works his way into the middle on Bucks center Joel Przybilla, Yao and Przybilla bang once, then as Przybilla anticipates another bump, Yao suddenly turns to the middle and nails a fallaway 9-footer right over Przybilla! The Milwaukee crowd roars loudly as Yao scores the Rockets' first points. The game is tied 2-2.

7:09 Assist From behind the 3-point line, Eddie Griffin passes to Yao, who is positioned in the middle of the paint. As Bucks guard Sam Cassell comes over from the left wing to double-team, Yao finds Cassell's open man by swinging a pass to James Posey who is right behind the 3-point line in the left corner. JP catches the pass, squares up, and buries the shot!

5:34 Assist In almost the identical setup as Yao's previous assist, Eddie Griffin again finds Yao positioned in the middle of the paint with only Bucks forward Desmond Mason defending. As three Bucks converge on Yao, he unselfishly passes the rock right back to Griffin. Eddie, from the behind the top of the 3-point line, shoots and swishes a 3-pointer! The Rockets lead 18-11.

4:43 Free
Throws Yao gets the ball just a step away from the middle of the right edge of the lane. With a left-handed dribble, Yao works his way inside, and turns back to the baseline and puts up a soft right-handed baby hook. The shot misses off the back iron, but Przybilla gets called for the body contact. Yao hits both free throws and extends the Rockets lead to 20-13. Yao has 4 points on 1-for-2 shooting, 1 rebound, and 2 assists.

4:19 In the middle of the paint, Yao gets another feed from Griffin. Yao works quickly as he immediately pivots to his right and easily puts up a baby hook shot over Bucks center Ervin Johnson! That shot hit nothing but net! With Yao positioned in the middle like that, he's virtually unstoppable! Yao now has 6 points on 2-for-3 shooting. The Rockets lead 22-13.

2:43 From 19 feet away on the right side, Yao faces the basket, sets himself, and drains a long distance jumper over Ervin Johnson who hopelessly tries to block the shot! That's 3 in a row for Yao, giving him 8 points on 3-for-4 shooting! The Bucks trail 24-18.

Bucks analyst and former NBA player Jon McGlocklin comments, "He has an excellent touch for a big man or a little man...Very rare for a man his size to shoot the jumper that way."

2:27 Intimidation Bucks guard Gary Payton crosses over on Cuttino Mobley and penetrates down the left side of the lane. Yao rotates down from the right to cover for Mobley, and as Payton goes up a layup, Yao fakes a quick movement towards Payton as if he's going to rush in for the block! As a result, Payton misses the uncontested layup! Great play by Yao to fool the veteran Payton!

1:54 Mobley passes to Yao who is posting up on the right side. Yao pump fakes on Johnson, and proceeds to dribble down the right edge of the lane. Yao then turns to the middle, shoots and swishes a fallaway 11-foot jumper over Johnson again! Yao's clearly tearing it up since he has now hit 4 in a row! Yao has 10 points (4-for-5 from the field). The Rockets lead 26-18.

0:27.4 Free
Throws From the top of the 3-point line, Glen Rice makes an entry pass to Yao who is deep in the middle of the paint. Yao makes a nice one-handed catch as he gets pushed by Johnson, who is out of position to Yao's side. Johnson gets called for the foul, and with the Bucks over the limit, Yao steps up to the line and aces two more free throws. That's a real shame that Yao got pushed on the play; we were totally feeling a COLOSSAL dunk coming up! The Rockets lead 30-18.

2nd quarter - With Yao's hot hand, the Rockets lead the Bucks 30-20. Yao had a productive first quarter with 12 points (4-for-5 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line), 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. In a bit of a surprise move, Larry Smith elects to start Yao, who is blazing hot, in the second quarter. This is the first time we recall all season Yao starting the second quarter after playing all of the first quarter. Perhaps Smith senses the importance of this game and is going to pull out all the stops

10:35 On the left post just outside the lane, Yao makes a rapid baseline spin move and leaves Ervin Johnson all by his lonesome! Yao now has a clear path for a one-handed slam, but as he goes up to power it home, Bucks forward Tim Thomas swings over from the weakside and blatantly fouls Yao on the wrist. No whistle blows, and Yao hits the deck! The Bucks proceed to turn it over on an errant pass, and Yao gets up and smiles, not letting the "no call" rattle him. On the replay, even the Bucks' TV analyst Jon McGlocklin admitted it was a foul, but that doesn't stop the Bucks fans from celebrating thinking that Thomas' "block" was legit.

9:48 Yao checks out of the game for Kelvin Cato. Yao leaves with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. The Rockets lead 33-25.

2:18 With the Bucks only down by 4, Yao checks back in for Cato. The Rockets lead 47-43.

Halftime - With the Rockets perimeter defense falling apart in the second quarter, the Bucks have tied the game 52-52. With such a hot first quarter, one would assume that Yao would be the go-to guy in the second, but Yao only took one shot in the second quarter alone! After one half of play, Yao has 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.

3rd quarter - Yao starts the third quarter.

7:32 Intimidation Off a layup miss, a mad scramble for the ball ensues and while laying on the floor, Joel Przybilla comes up with a nice play and flips a pass to Desmond Mason who is right under the basket. Yao is there to tower over and challenge Mason under the basket, and Mason is forced to pump fake, reverse pivot and shoot an awkward baseline fade-away jumper over Yao's out-stretched hand. The shot misses as it hits the front of the rim!

Bucks analyst Jon McGlocklin comments, "The Yao factor has already taken its toll...He makes you shoot quickly, off-balance, or high."

6:59 Assist From the upper-right side, Cuttino Mobley crosses over and drives down the left side of the lane, but gets stripped of the ball just inside the free throw line. On a heads-up play, Yao picks up the loose ball from the left post, and without any hesitation flings a no-look pass to James Posey who is right behind the 3-point line on the left side. JP squares up and knocks down the 3-pointer! Great court instinct by Yao in finding the open man! The Rockets trail 61-63.

5:05 Assist The 7'5" 'Larry Bird' does it again. Eddie Griffin passes to Yao on the right side. Yao turns to face the basket, and as Griffin cuts into the paint, Yao threads a bullet pass right between the flailing hands of two Bucks! Talk about precision passing! Eddie goes on to hit the easy layup and the Rockets lead 66-65.

2:31 Free
Throws Posey gets the ball to Yao in the low post on the left side of the paint. JP then cuts baseline under Yao, giving Yao plenty of space to work. Yao dribbles once, turns baseline, makes a smart pump fake and dupes Ervin Johnson into the air. Yao then leans into Johnson and shoots. The shot misses but Johnson gets called for the obvious foul. Yao misses the first throw, but hits the next one. Yao now has 13 points and is 5-for-6 from the line. The score is tied 70-70.

1:55 Free
Throws A step away from the left edge of the lane, Yao begins to make his move on Ervin Johnson. Yao pivots to his left to face Johnson, then swings the ball over to his left and starts to dribble and back Johnson down. Yao bangs his way inside and turns to the middle and shoots a small baby hook that falls. The whistle blows, and Johnson gets called for the bumping foul on the ground. So the shot doesn't count. Yao has been able to draw a total of 9 fouls between the two Bucks' centers thus far! Yao hits both free throws, tying the game 72-72.

4th quarter - The Rockets trail the Bucks 73-76. With the Bucks forced to go small (Ervin Johnson fouled out, and Joel Przybilla has 4 fouls), Larry Smith chooses to substitute Maurice Taylor for Yao. Yao has 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

6:20 With the Bucks going on a 9-2 run, the Rockets find themselves trailing 80-90. Yao checks in for Glen Rice.

2:11 Larry Smith removes Yao and puts in Juaquin Hawkins for 3-point shooting purposes. Although we can understand Smith's logic here, we think Yao can hit the 3-pointer just as effectively as almost all of his teammates. The Rockets trail 86-97.

0:00 The Bucks beat the Rockets by the final score 99-106. Yao finishes the game with 15 points (4-for-8 from the field, 7-for-8 from the line), 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Rockets are now 1 and 1/2 games behind the Suns for the final spot for the Western Conference playoffs.

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1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
11:29		Steve Francis passes to Yao who is a couple of steps away from the middle of the left edge of the lane. As Yao works his way into the middle on Bucks center Joel Przybilla, Yao and Przybilla bang once, then as Przybilla anticipates another bump, Yao suddenly turns to the middle and nails a fallaway 9-footer right over Przybilla! The Milwaukee crowd roars loudly as Yao scores the Rockets' first points. The game is tied 2-2.
7:09	Assist	From behind the 3-point line, Eddie Griffin passes to Yao, who is positioned in the middle of the paint. As Bucks guard Sam Cassell comes over from the left wing to double-team, Yao finds Cassell's open man by swinging a pass to James Posey who is right behind the 3-point line in the left corner. JP catches the pass, squares up, and buries the shot!
5:34	Assist	In almost the identical setup as Yao's previous assist, Eddie Griffin again finds Yao positioned in the middle of the paint with only Bucks forward Desmond Mason defending. As three Bucks converge on Yao, he unselfishly passes the rock right back to Griffin. Eddie, from the behind the top of the 3-point line, shoots and swishes a 3-pointer! The Rockets lead 18-11.
4:43	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball just a step away from the middle of the right edge of the lane. With a left-handed dribble, Yao works his way inside, and turns back to the baseline and puts up a soft right-handed baby hook. The shot misses off the back iron, but Przybilla gets called for the body contact. Yao hits both free throws and extends the Rockets lead to 20-13. Yao has 4 points on 1-for-2 shooting, 1 rebound, and 2 assists.
4:19		In the middle of the paint, Yao gets another feed from Griffin. Yao works quickly as he immediately pivots to his right and easily puts up a baby hook shot over Bucks center Ervin Johnson! That shot hit nothing but net! With Yao positioned in the middle like that, he's virtually unstoppable! Yao now has 6 points on 2-for-3 shooting. The Rockets lead 22-13.
2:43		From 19 feet away on the right side, Yao faces the basket, sets himself, and drains a long distance jumper over Ervin Johnson who hopelessly tries to block the shot! That's 3 in a row for Yao, giving him 8 points on 3-for-4 shooting! The Bucks trail 24-18. Bucks analyst and former NBA player Jon McGlocklin comments, "He has an excellent touch for a big man or a little man...Very rare for a man his size to shoot the jumper that way."
2:27	Intimidation	Bucks guard Gary Payton crosses over on Cuttino Mobley and penetrates down the left side of the lane. Yao rotates down from the right to cover for Mobley, and as Payton goes up a layup, Yao fakes a quick movement towards Payton as if he's going to rush in for the block! As a result, Payton misses the uncontested layup! Great play by Yao to fool the veteran Payton!
1:54		Mobley passes to Yao who is posting up on the right side. Yao pump fakes on Johnson, and proceeds to dribble down the right edge of the lane. Yao then turns to the middle, shoots and swishes a fallaway 11-foot jumper over Johnson again! Yao's clearly tearing it up since he has now hit 4 in a row! Yao has 10 points (4-for-5 from the field). The Rockets lead 26-18.
0:27.4	Free Throws	From the top of the 3-point line, Glen Rice makes an entry pass to Yao who is deep in the middle of the paint. Yao makes a nice one-handed catch as he gets pushed by Johnson, who is out of position to Yao's side. Johnson gets called for the foul, and with the Bucks over the limit, Yao steps up to the line and aces two more free throws. That's a real shame that Yao got pushed on the play; we were totally feeling a COLOSSAL dunk coming up! The Rockets lead 30-18.
2nd quarter - With Yao's hot hand, the Rockets lead the Bucks 30-20. Yao had a productive first quarter with 12 points (4-for-5 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line), 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. In a bit of a surprise move, Larry Smith elects to start Yao, who is blazing hot, in the second quarter. This is the first time we recall all season Yao starting the second quarter after playing all of the first quarter. Perhaps Smith senses the importance of this game and is going to pull out all the stops
10:35		On the left post just outside the lane, Yao makes a rapid baseline spin move and leaves Ervin Johnson all by his lonesome! Yao now has a clear path for a one-handed slam, but as he goes up to power it home, Bucks forward Tim Thomas swings over from the weakside and blatantly fouls Yao on the wrist. No whistle blows, and Yao hits the deck! The Bucks proceed to turn it over on an errant pass, and Yao gets up and smiles, not letting the "no call" rattle him. On the replay, even the Bucks' TV analyst Jon McGlocklin admitted it was a foul, but that doesn't stop the Bucks fans from celebrating thinking that Thomas' "block" was legit.
9:48		Yao checks out of the game for Kelvin Cato. Yao leaves with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. The Rockets lead 33-25.
2:18		With the Bucks only down by 4, Yao checks back in for Cato. The Rockets lead 47-43.
Halftime - With the Rockets perimeter defense falling apart in the second quarter, the Bucks have tied the game 52-52. With such a hot first quarter, one would assume that Yao would be the go-to guy in the second, but Yao only took one shot in the second quarter alone! After one half of play, Yao has 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the third quarter.
7:32	Intimidation	Off a layup miss, a mad scramble for the ball ensues and while laying on the floor, Joel Przybilla comes up with a nice play and flips a pass to Desmond Mason who is right under the basket. Yao is there to tower over and challenge Mason under the basket, and Mason is forced to pump fake, reverse pivot and shoot an awkward baseline fade-away jumper over Yao's out-stretched hand. The shot misses as it hits the front of the rim! Bucks analyst Jon McGlocklin comments, "The Yao factor has already taken its toll...He makes you shoot quickly, off-balance, or high."
6:59	Assist	From the upper-right side, Cuttino Mobley crosses over and drives down the left side of the lane, but gets stripped of the ball just inside the free throw line. On a heads-up play, Yao picks up the loose ball from the left post, and without any hesitation flings a no-look pass to James Posey who is right behind the 3-point line on the left side. JP squares up and knocks down the 3-pointer! Great court instinct by Yao in finding the open man! The Rockets trail 61-63.
5:05	Assist	The 7'5" 'Larry Bird' does it again. Eddie Griffin passes to Yao on the right side. Yao turns to face the basket, and as Griffin cuts into the paint, Yao threads a bullet pass right between the flailing hands of two Bucks! Talk about precision passing! Eddie goes on to hit the easy layup and the Rockets lead 66-65.
2:31	Free Throws	Posey gets the ball to Yao in the low post on the left side of the paint. JP then cuts baseline under Yao, giving Yao plenty of space to work. Yao dribbles once, turns baseline, makes a smart pump fake and dupes Ervin Johnson into the air. Yao then leans into Johnson and shoots. The shot misses but Johnson gets called for the obvious foul. Yao misses the first throw, but hits the next one. Yao now has 13 points and is 5-for-6 from the line. The score is tied 70-70.
1:55	Free Throws	A step away from the left edge of the lane, Yao begins to make his move on Ervin Johnson. Yao pivots to his left to face Johnson, then swings the ball over to his left and starts to dribble and back Johnson down. Yao bangs his way inside and turns to the middle and shoots a small baby hook that falls. The whistle blows, and Johnson gets called for the bumping foul on the ground. So the shot doesn't count. Yao has been able to draw a total of 9 fouls between the two Bucks' centers thus far! Yao hits both free throws, tying the game 72-72.
4th quarter - The Rockets trail the Bucks 73-76. With the Bucks forced to go small (Ervin Johnson fouled out, and Joel Przybilla has 4 fouls), Larry Smith chooses to substitute Maurice Taylor for Yao. Yao has 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
6:20		With the Bucks going on a 9-2 run, the Rockets find themselves trailing 80-90. Yao checks in for Glen Rice.
2:11		Larry Smith removes Yao and puts in Juaquin Hawkins for 3-point shooting purposes. Although we can understand Smith's logic here, we think Yao can hit the 3-pointer just as effectively as almost all of his teammates. The Rockets trail 86-97.
0:00		The Bucks beat the Rockets by the final score 99-106. Yao finishes the game with 15 points (4-for-8 from the field, 7-for-8 from the line), 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Rockets are now 1 and 1/2 games behind the Suns for the final spot for the Western Conference playoffs.