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Yao vs. Raptors - 3/24/04
 Donyell Marshall gets ready to attempt a last-second layup attempt in overtime in Houston on Wednesday night, but Yao blocks the shot to seal a 90-89 Rockets victory over Toronto. Yao scored 25 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and had two blocks total. |
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WENDESDAY, 3/24/04 - This game summary is going to be short because I'm still under the weather from a couple of days ago. Even though I'm not feeling that great, I can't help but get excited about how Yao Ming's blocks in the final moments of recent games have been the key to the last three Rocket victories! It happened in the final minute against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 13th, against Portland on March 22nd (see DYA below), and once again Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors for a 90-89 win.
With the Rockets leading 90-89, the Raptors had a chance to win the game when Donyell Marshall drove the lane and put up a running layup attempt over Yao, but Yao got a hand on it to block it, and that was the ball game! Although Yao's offense gets a lot of attention, his defense has been improving and has resulted in Hakeem the Dream-like plays that have won big games. [I wouldn't be surprised to see the Houston Chronicle write an article about it soon]. Yao didn't have that great of a night shooting in the clutch on Wednesday like he did Monday night against Portland, but he made up for it with 23 points (25 total) in the first three quarters and great "D" at the end. Either way you look at it, "Yao makes plays" (as they say). He also grabbed 17 rebounds and had two blocks. Forget the fact the Rockets blew another big lead (12 points) in the second half. We have come to expect that. It all just makes the games more exciting, right? Realistically, we can do without the drama, Rockets. But a side benefit is that it has given Houston an opportunity to "practice" playing better when it really counts, which they sorely need in order to grow and perform well in the post-season. We also love how the Rockets redeemed themselves against the Raptors after the Rockets lost a heartbreaker in Toronto in two overtimes in November. In that previous match-up, Raptor rookie Chris Bosh hit his first NBA three-pointer to tie the game with 7 seconds in regulation to send the game to overtime. In Wednesday night's game -- 61 games after that infamous Sunday in Canada -- Bosh hit only his fourth NBA three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to cut the Toronto deficit to 89-90 and make the game very perilous for the Rox. What is it with Bosh and his ability to give the Rockets fits? Eventually, Yao saved the day with his block of Marshall with one second remaining in OT. I said it after Monday night's game against Portland and I'll say it again: if the Rockets had lost to the Raptors (with a 30-40 record in the East) at home after blowing another big lead, it would have been devastating to team psyche. Obviously there was a lot more to this game than what I have described above, but I'm fading faster than a Rockets second-half lead. |