I had full intentions last night to follow-up what I had posted after the Rockets victory over the Lakers with another detailed post, but I was so tired last night after a long day, I felt like Shane Battier after an exhausting game guarding Kobe Bryant. I didn’t have any more energy left in me. But I’m now rested and ready.

The good thing is that I’ve had about 17 hours to reflect on yesterday’s historical win (they’re all historical now during this streak) and write about what stood out from yesterday’s game.

First, any Rocket fan who comes to this site who didn’t see yesterday’s nationally televised game probably had some obligation that had them kicking the dog or yelling at the wife. You knew how big of a game this was: the top teams in the West, the No. 1 seed and a long winning streak at stake, the Rockets trying to get respect nationally. If you missed it, my sympathies go out to you. Try to find a friend somewhere who has it on a DVR.

Not that the victory was a thing of beauty. That 15-point halftime lead getting whittled down to barely anything after the Rockets started the third quarter 0-for-12 made the game a little too interesting. But they righted the ship when necessary, held on to maintain the lead, then blew the game open with a 14-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to win #22 in a row and take one more step toward national credibility on a big stage: ABC on Sunday afternoon.

That scoring run that decided the game seemed to come out of nowhere. A few long-range jumpers that seemed ill-advised at the time made it feel kind of gimmicky, but that outburst reminded me a lot of what the Spurs would do to blow out the Rockets and other teams in previous seasons: they turned it on when they needed it.

To me, that’s the thing I’ve been impressed with the most during this streak. I just hope they have enough left come playoff time. But good teams usually do. This streak has been a confidence builder that they can turn it on when times get tough.

Of course, Rafer Alston‘s eight 3-pointers had me yelling out loud in a sports bar every time one of them fell. I couldn’t believe myself how I was reacting to them: I’ve seen big shots before, but these were jaw-dropping. I didn’t mind my reaction in public to it because they were so special to watch. He was on the biggest stage and blocking out the gravity of the situation, and stepping up in light of Tracy McGrady missing all 9 of his shots and going scoreless the entire first half.

Rafer’s 16 points in the first quarter alone was impressive enough, but to add another 15 to finish with a career-high 31 on 10-of-22 shooting, and eight 3-pointers (a Toyota Center record) was unbelievable. No one expected after it looked like he was starting to cool off this season, hitting only 9-of-37 shots (under 25%) his previous two games and 4-of-18 from 3-point land.

Alston’s emergence this season reminds me of what Tony Parker went through a few seasons ago before he became a force: everyone wanted him replaced a few seasons ago (remember the Spurs wanting Jason Kidd instead?) because he was still pretty raw and couldn’t hit the outside jumper consistently, but then blossomed just in time to prove that HE should be the man running the team and quiet his critics (like many of us).

Bobby Jackson also showed up big on the nation’s stage, hitting 7-of-9 shots for 19 much-needed points. Where did that offensive explosion come from? Jackson had only hit 12-of-36 shots in his last 6 games, including many missed layups, and had everyone wondering if the trading of Bonzi for him was a mistake. But he came up big when it counted.

As great as Alston and Jackson were, Shane Battier also got plenty of recognition from the ABC announcers for the job he did on Kobe (11-of-33 shooting). It didn’t hurt that his former coach Jeff Van Gundy was one of the announcers, and he gave Shane plenty of credit for how hard of a defensive worker he is. I also loved how ABC showed him getting a hand in Kobe’s face on almost every jump shot he took. On top of his defense, Shane had enough energy to make 5-of-12 from the floor for 14 points.

Luis Scola was incredible as always, leading the team in rebounds (11) despite playing only 28 minutes because of foul trouble. Although he was only 3-of-9 from the field, he made 7-of-9 free throws to score 11 points, all which were big.

Mike Harris also followed-up his breakout performance from Friday night’s 12 points against Charlotte with 6 much-needed points on 3-of-6 shooting. I love Harris’ game, but that doesn’t diminish my desire for Carl Landry to get back into action. It has to be any day now.

There is so much more I want to write about this game, but my time is running short. However, if I find time later tonight, I may write more about it. Or maybe I should just save it for their game against Boston on Tuesday: a game that’s just as big against the Eastern Conference’s best team.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 8:38 am and is filed under vs. LA Lakers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.