Wow! Rockets nuke Nuggets in crunch time
Monday, April 17th, 2006
by John
Late in the fourth quarter Monday night with the Rockets down 81-68 with 4:22 remaining, they were right on schedule toward losing their 48th game of the season and improving their chances for a higher pick in the NBA draft. But then they had to go on one of their most amazing scoring runs of the season without Yao or T-Mac, outscoring Denver 18-2 the rest of the way and shocking the Nuggets at home 86-83.
Unbelievable. Give big time credit to Keith Bogans, who was involved in three consecutive huge plays down the stretch.
Down 83-78 with 1:29 remaining, Bogans stole a long pass and took it to the hole on a sweet crossover move for a layup to make it 83-80, Denver. On the very next Rockets possession with about 22 seconds remaining, Bogans again drove it to the basket along the right baseline, drew the defense to him, then kicked it out to Juwan Howard who nailed an open jumper to make it 83-82 with 19.3 seconds left in the game.
Then on a play that reminded me of the ending of the UCLA-Gonzaga game a few weeks ago, the Nuggets inbounded the ball to Howard Eisley, who was double-teamed immediately by Bogans and Chuck Hayes. Bogans was able to knock the ball away from Eisley without fouling him, and Hayes was there to pick up the loose ball, dribble two times toward the basket and slam it through for an 84-83 lead with 13.4 seconds remaining! And Houston was able to hold on for the shocking upset!
Late in the fourth quarter Monday night with the Rockets down 81-68 with 4:22 remaining, they were right on schedule toward losing their 48th game of the season and improving their chances for a higher pick in the NBA draft. But then they had to go on one of their most amazing scoring runs of the season without Yao or T-Mac, outscoring Denver 18-2 the rest of the way and shocking the Nuggets at home 86-83.
Unbelievable. Give big time credit to Keith Bogans, who was involved in three consecutive huge plays down the stretch.
Down 83-78 with 1:29 remaining, Bogans stole a long pass and took it to the hole on a sweet crossover move for a layup to make it 83-80, Denver. On the very next Rockets possession with about 22 seconds remaining, Bogans again drove it to the basket along the right baseline, drew the defense to him, then kicked it out to Juwan Howard who nailed an open jumper to make it 83-82 with 19.3 seconds left in the game.
Then on a play that reminded me of the ending of the UCLA-Gonzaga game a few weeks ago, the Nuggets inbounded the ball to Howard Eisley, who was double-teamed immediately by Bogans and Chuck Hayes. Bogans was able to knock the ball away from Eisley without fouling him, and Hayes was there to pick up the loose ball, dribble two times toward the basket and slam it through for an 84-83 lead with 13.4 seconds remaining! And Houston was able to hold on for the shocking upset!
