Rockets beat best team in the East for 5th win in a row
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
by John
This photo is indicative of the kind of game Yao had against the Pistons on Thursday night. On this play, Yao did his patented spin move toward the baseline, leaving Rasheed Wallace in his wake. Yao finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 7-of-8 free throws made, 7 rebounds, only 2 turnovers, and 1 BIG BLOCK. Click here for more photos from the game. Click here for pre-game photos.
Through 3 1/2 quarters Thursday night, it appeared the Rockets were on their way to having another “statement game” similar to the 50-point win they had Sunday night in Philadelphia.
This time, they held a big 18-point lead with only 8:18 remaining in the game against arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons had won their last 6 road games, and 6 out of their last 7 games overall. So they are for real in a fairly weak East.
And in this game they were playing with Chauncey Billups, who has been out with a groin injury lately. This game was on its way to being a bona fide dismantling of Detroit, and I could only imagine what journalists and teams in the League were thinking about Houston.
Maybe something like, “Man, look at Houston. They are kicking tail. They have won 7 of their last 8 games (on their way to 8 of 9), and they dominated a good Detroit team. Watch out for them in the playoffs. No doubt now: they are going to be the surprise team in the playoffs this year.”
Well, after blowing that 18-point lead and letting Detroit close within 4 points with 2:31 remaining in the game, many of those potential accolades went out the window somewhat. Houston would hold on for a 91-85 win, which is impressive, but not as impressive as it could have been.
But I don’t care much about how a team looks when they win as much as I do with their ability to win close games any way they can. Houston has been learning lately how to close out tight games (remember the Indiana game Tuesday night?), which is undoubtedly going to be a necessity to win in the playoffs.
This photo is indicative of the kind of game Yao had against the Pistons on Thursday night. On this play, Yao did his patented spin move toward the baseline, leaving Rasheed Wallace in his wake. Yao finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 7-of-8 free throws made, 7 rebounds, only 2 turnovers, and 1 BIG BLOCK. Click here for more photos from the game. Click here for pre-game photos.Through 3 1/2 quarters Thursday night, it appeared the Rockets were on their way to having another “statement game” similar to the 50-point win they had Sunday night in Philadelphia.
This time, they held a big 18-point lead with only 8:18 remaining in the game against arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons had won their last 6 road games, and 6 out of their last 7 games overall. So they are for real in a fairly weak East.
And in this game they were playing with Chauncey Billups, who has been out with a groin injury lately. This game was on its way to being a bona fide dismantling of Detroit, and I could only imagine what journalists and teams in the League were thinking about Houston.
Maybe something like, “Man, look at Houston. They are kicking tail. They have won 7 of their last 8 games (on their way to 8 of 9), and they dominated a good Detroit team. Watch out for them in the playoffs. No doubt now: they are going to be the surprise team in the playoffs this year.”
Well, after blowing that 18-point lead and letting Detroit close within 4 points with 2:31 remaining in the game, many of those potential accolades went out the window somewhat. Houston would hold on for a 91-85 win, which is impressive, but not as impressive as it could have been.
But I don’t care much about how a team looks when they win as much as I do with their ability to win close games any way they can. Houston has been learning lately how to close out tight games (remember the Indiana game Tuesday night?), which is undoubtedly going to be a necessity to win in the playoffs.
