It wasn’t pretty. It took 2 OTs for Houston to beat a Detroit team without its top scorers (Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton). The Rockets were lethargic at first, letting the Pistons out-hustle them for offensive rebounds and second-chance points. Detroit hung around long enough to threaten all the good karma Houston had built since the All-Star break beating most teams they should beat.

But the talent and energy of Houston’s roster finally prevailed in the 2nd overtime of a 3-hour game (ending at 11:41pm), finally pulling away with a 106-101 victory to go 45-25 on the year.

Yao Ming was virtually unstoppable against the Pistons, scoring a
game-high 31 points. Click here and here for more photos from the game.

Like most wins these days in the thick of the playoff race, it was a huge victory. Earlier in the evening, Denver had beaten Memphis to take a half-game lead over Houston at 45-25 to take over 3rd place in the West. By the time Houston closed the deal over Detroit, the Rockets had tied the Nuggets with the same record.

Four Rocket players rose up at different times that made the difference.

First, we’ve got to start off with Yao, who scored 31 points on 13-of-22 shooting in 45 minutes of action. He also racked up 15 boards and had 4 blocks.

He scored 8 of the Rockets’ 24 points in the 2 OTs, with his turnaround jumper as automatic as I’ve ever seen it. He’s been hitting that shot from the right post so regularly with such a sweet touch, it’s the most Hakeem-like play I’ve seen Yao master in my 7 years of watching him. He has such confidence in that shot — like Dream had with his turnaround J — every time it swishes through the net, it has to demoralize the opposing team.

Although it would have been nice to have seen the Rockets milk that shot of Yao’s more often since he was being defended man-to-man most of the time, at least they went to him more times than I’ve seen in the past during crunch time. Just imagine how much more Yao would score if starting small forward Shane Battier was a threat offensively that the defense had to respect. Battier took only 1 shot in 44 minutes of play!

Ron Artest had a solid game scoring 26 points on a decent 11-of-24 shooting. Many times late in the game he would take it to the hole and score, like he should. He seems to have learned more since the All-Star break that he can’t get rely on the 3-pointer or outside shot all the time, especially when it’s not falling (he only took 4 shots from 3-point land, missing one of them). That’s something he has learned in the course of the season, unlike Tracy McGrady, who seemed to forget all the time.

Aaron Brooks came up big with 14 points on 4-of-8 shots, with no shot being bigger than the 3-pointer to start the second overtime, giving the team some breathing room to play a little looser and take a 10-point lead. The Pistons would cut the lead down to 3 points, but Brooks would come through with 4 straight free throws after being intentionally fouled twice. Those FTs alone are shots I would always be afraid that Rafer Alston couldn’t drain, but AB did what point guards should do — hit their throws with the game on the line.

Luis Scola also became a clutch player in the fourth quarter after the Rockets fell behind. Alot of people probably didn’t notice, but Adelman put him in the game after getting upset about Yao not staying down low in the paint, letting Will Bynum score more easily to give the Pistons a 5-point lead early in the fourth.

Scola would deliver with shifty moves down low in the paint DURING CRUNCH TIME and showed he can be a legitimate scoring option when the Rockets really need a bucket. It’s always good to have more options when the matchups aren’t favoring Yao, Brooks or Artest.

With Landry being out because of the terrible circumstances regarding his gunshot wound, the Rockets really missed his athleticism on the boards. Detroit seemed to be getting the offensive boards all night long, grabbing 21 for the game. As great as Yao’s rebound count was (15), he only had 2 on the offensive glass, obviously because he’s not the best jumper, doesn’t have the quickest reflexes, and his hands aren’t reminiscent of Dennis Rodman’s or Ben Wallace’s.

In comparison, other Rockets’ big men have better offensive rebounding ratios: Scola’s 6 boards included 3 offensive, Chuck Hayes‘ 5 rebounds included 3 ORs, and Artest’s 4 boards included 2 ORs.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m not complaining. Similar to how Brooks may not be the best assist man for a point guard (yet), Yao Ming makes up for it in so many ways, being more of a go-to guy in crunch time, a no-brainer of a first option for all his teammates when he’s being single-covered.

That’s what he was late in the fourth quarter, scoring 7 points in a row to get the Rockets’ lead back and help send the game to the OTs where Yao would score 8 more points and the Rockets would take care of business.

You probably couldn’t have picked a worse game for Yao Ming to not play because of flu-like symptoms: a game against a division rival right on their heels with several teams right behind them bunched together vying for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Without Yao, the Rockets sucked it up and won one of their biggest wins of the season (they all seem to be huge these days, don’t they?). It didn’t look like they had a chance at one point: the Rockets’ offense and defense stunk it up as New Orleans went on a 22-3 run stretching from the end of the 2nd quarter to the start of the 3rd.

The Rockets missed 13 of 15 shots during that span, and after the Hornets scored on 3 straight alley-oop dunks, it looked like it was going to be a blowout.

Ron Artest was terrible, missing his first 11 shots, and I could hear the Ron-Ron critics come out of the woodworks. But being the warrior he is, he stopped settling for jump shots, started attacking the basket, and got it rolling to spark a 95-84 comeback win.

Artest would finish with 18 points, all scored in the second half. You’ve got to give credit to a guy who has that much mental strength and fortitude to overcome such a poor start.

But it wasn’t just Artest who stepped up: 5 other players scored in double-figures to show just how balanced the Rockets can be. Aaron Brooks (14), Luis Scola (14), Carl Landry (12), Von Wafer (12), and shockingly Shane Battier (11 points).

Although he was 1-for-6 from the 3-point line, Battier finally got aggressive by posting up in the lane more, and taking it to the basket and getting fouled where he went 4-for-4 from the line.

If Battier just scores 10 points per game like he was doing before he came to the Rockets from Memphis, then that will really help take alot of pressure off the other players, including Artest, to pick up the slack.

Major props go to Dikembe Mutombo filling in for Yao. Although he scored only 1 point, his 3 blocked shots — all against Julian Wright — were nice to see to get into the Hornets’ head. His 8 rebounds in 24 1/2 minutes didn’t hurt, either.

Dikembe Mutombo blocks the shot of Julian Wright, one of 3 blocks he would have against Wright on the night. Click here for more photos from the game.

Other notable stats: Wafer had 5 assists. Scola filled the gap left by Yao’s absence by grabbing 12 boards. The Rockets got back to their good free throw shooting ways, hitting 27-of-31 from the line. Brooks scored 9 points in the first quarter, didn’t take a shot in the second quarter (hardly even handled the ball), but got back to being aggressive and scoring 5 in the second half. That gave AB a respectable showing against Chris Paul, who finished with 29 points on 9-of-21 shots. And through great defense on almost all of their other players, holding the Hornets to 39.7% shooting, the Rockets were able to overcome Yao not being there.

Houston is now only 1 1/2 games behind San Antonio (who lost to Oklahoma City Monday night!) for the 2nd seed in the playoffs, but only a game ahead of Portland for the 5th seed, 1 1/2 games ahead of New Orleans for 6th, and 2 games ahead of Utah for the 7th. Every game continues to be HUGE, with Detroit coming into Houston on Wednesday. Although the Rockets did well without Yao Monday night, they need him from here on out.

Raymond has posted a translation of an interview that Yao Ming gave after the Rockets’ loss to San Antonio where he talks about a variety of things, including a late-game play involving Aaron Brooks where they had a chance to take the lead.

I find it very surprising on that play that Rick Adelman designed it to get the ball to Ron Artest on a long pass from Brooks rather than to Yao in the post, or a pick-and-roll of some sort. What happened to Yao being the first option in late game situations, per Jonathan Feigen’s suggestion last week?

I guess it all depends if you think the Rockets needed to go up by 2 points with a 3-pointer, or go with a higher percentage play with Yao in the post and lead only by 1. What would you have done in that scenario?

As disappointing of a loss it was for Houston to lose to the Spurs Saturday night at Toyota Center, I think there were lots of positive aspects to this game. Not to make excuses, but it was the second night of a back-to-back, and it’s tough for any team that has played 5 games in 7 nights to beat an elite team like the Spurs. Give them a ton of credit for the effort, coming back from 11 points down to make a game of it, having a couple of chances to tie it, before losing 88-85.

Yao had a nice game against Tim Duncan with 18 points on 9-of-17 shots, 11 boards, 2 blocks, and only two turnovers. His turnaround jumper was pretty much “on,” but he wasn’t going to be able to win the game himself. He was going to need help.


Yao Ming throws one down on Tim Duncan after a spin move along the baseline. Click here for more photos from the game.

Let’s talk about some of that help. First, Aaron Brooks was being exposed defensively by Tony Parker (28 points overall), which is expected because of the size difference. But when you’ve got a size disadvantage like that, you make up for it on the offensive end.

Brooks achieved that, finishing with 18 points of his own. He scored 8 points in the third on 3-of-5 shooting to spark a 17-2 run that brought them back from a 55-44 deficit. All 3 of the shots AB made over Parker in the third were aggressive plays: one where he took it strong into the lane and scored on a wild (but under control) shot 2) one on a little jump hook over Parker, 3) and the last being a long two-pointer that would have been a triple if he hadn’t had his foot on the line.

And I loved what the Rockets did several times late in the fourth quarter between Brooks and Yao: pick-and-roll, with Brooks taking it strong to the hole and either scoring, or if he missed, the Rockets getting the offensive board. That happened on 3 straight possessions in which he scored at the 1:50 mark. Then at the 1:12 mark, he attacked the basket, missed the shot, but Scola grabbed the rebound and was fouled. And then he attacked the basket with :43.6 remaining, missed, but Yao grabbed the rebound and slameed it home to bring the Rockets within 86-85.

They tried to do it one last time where AB took it strong to the hole, amazingly got past Tim Duncan, and put up a shot from underneath the backboard, but it hit the underside of it, the Spurs rebounded, and the Rockets were forced to foul Parker intentionally.

I think something is being completely missed by people complaining that Yao needs to get the ball more. When you’ve got guards who can take it to the hole and score like Brooks, Von Wafer and Kyle Lowry, you’d like for them to do that because it’s not only a higher percentage shot, but they will either score, get fouled, have an opportunity to dish for an assist, or IF THE SHOT IS MISSED, THE BIG GUYS CAN BE THERE TO GRAB THE OFFENSIVE REBOUND AND SCORE IF THEY’RE AGGRESSIVE THEMSELVES.

I believe big men actually prefer to grab an offensive rebound when a teammate puts one up on the rim for them, rather than have to slug it out in the low post dribbling the ball and having a chance of getting it stolen or blocked. That’s why I think it’s incumbent for the bigs to crash the boards more, including Yao, but for some reason that doesn’t seem to be happening enough when the guards attack the rim and miss.

Part of the problem with one option in that equation, dishing for an assist to Yao, is tough because Yao’s hands are not that great catching passes in traffic. That limits them greatly, but they can still do it with Luis Scola or Carl Landry, like they’ve done on plenty of occasions this season, but not in crunch time.

They’re still trying to find who’s going to be the guy involved in the pick-and-roll in clutch time. Give it some time. I think Scola and Landry can be those guys, as mentioned above.

Also, remember it took some time for Tony Parker to become who he is. Remember when the Spurs were thinking of getting rid of him early in his career and getting Jason Kidd? Brooks reminds me of that. He’s fast, can score, and he’s smart.

He needs to work on throwing better passes into Yao in the post, though. He’s throwing bounce passes into Yao that are very easy for defenders to read and steal. Part of the problem may be because since Brooks is so short, he can’t throw an entry pass over his defender, so going ‘underneath’ with the bounce pass is really his primary way of getting Yao the ball.

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Yao fans and Rocket fans will be talking for a long time about the 3-pointer that Yao hit with 2:10 remaining and the shot clock buzzer going off as a key to the Rockets victory over Charlotte Friday night.

Yao Ming drains a 3-pointer in the final couple of minutes of the Charlotte game to help the Rockets win. Click here for more photos from the game.

It was the first 3-pointer that Yao has hit in 6 years (I’m proud to say I witnessed the last one he hit in Golden State back in 2003; a video of Yao’s Friday night shot is embedded in my play-by-play synopsis near the bottom of this post).

That shot gave Yao a game-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting (along with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks). It’s the kind of shot I always thought Yao should take a bit more because he has the touch, but unfortunately he was brainwashed during the JVG era that he shouldn’t be shooting long jumpers like that. That’s a travesty because no one would ever be able to block it, and it’s a demoralizing shot for the opposition – like it was for Charlotte – when you see a 7’6” center drain one with the game on the line.

Who knows, with everyone in Houston wondering what’s going to be the Rocket’s “go-to play” when the Rockets need a late bucket, could it be like the one Friday night: pick-and-roll with Yao setting the pick, and him just staying put behind the 3-point line (and not dribbling it) so he can launch it if he receives the pass?

As great as that shot was, Yao’s defense Friday night was also good. He held Emeka Okafor to 3-for-11 shooting, and racked up 3 blocks overall.

But Yao wasn’t the only hero. A lot of people, including some in the Houston media, have come down hard on Ron Artest after his poor performance (0-for-8 from 3-point land) against the Lakers Wednesday night, or how he’s playing for a contract, or whatever. Others have questioned his ability to hit big shots down the stretch, and that maybe he isn’t worthy of being a “go-to” option when the Rockets need a bucket late in a game.

Personally, I thought his game against the Lakers was an off-night just like all players are prone to have, including Yao or LeBron James or anyone else. The number of bad nights Artest has had this season are a drop in the bucket compared to those from Tracy McGrady over the past several seasons. And Artest’s exceptional shooting from 3-point land, his tenacity, his continued willingness to attack the basket (something McGrady didn’t do enough), and his toughness, have bought him lots of leeway in my opinion to deal with a few bad games.

Oh yeah, the Rockets are also 11-3 since McGrady exited stage left and got out of Artest’s way so Ron-Ron could become the #2 guy next to Yao.

Well, there may still be questions about Artest’s abilities or anyone else’s, but for one night, he quieted a lot of his critics in the closing moments of a tight game in Charlotte.

After the Rockets imploded down the stretch with 7 turnovers in the fourth quarter and coughed up a 6-point lead with 2 minutes remaining, they needed 2 points in the worst way. They were down 86-85 with 32.6 seconds remaining, and every Rocket fan was wondering who was going to step up to take the big shot?

That person happened to be the “goat” of the Lakers game. Artest finished a dribble with a wicked crossover at the top of the key, made his defender Gerald Wallace fall down because of it, and Artest calmly elevated and drilled a jumper to give the Rockets an 87-86 lead that saved them!

After Raja Bell missed a jumper, Aaron Brooks was intentionally fouled and heroically hit 2 free throws to give the Rockets an 89-86 lead. The game would could down to defending against a sure 3-pointer that could tie the game.

That’s when Artest came up with a huge defensive stop – a block of Vladimir Radmanovic’s 3-pointer that he subsequently stole, took the ball down the court and scored on a layup for the win!

I heard someone the other day say that Artest is the best offensive and defensive “combination” player, or some similar term, in the NBA.

Well, he made a pretty good case on these 2 plays that he’s pretty good on both sides of the ball. What other player in the league constantly comes up with plays like that? Kobe is close, but his defense isn’t as good as Artest’s.

Artest’s game wasn’t perfect, by no means. He made a critical error when he dribbled the ball too much on one possession late that ended up causing a bogus foul to be called on Yao (see play-by-play below for more detail). He also was only 1-of-5 from the field in the first half, but recovered well and finished with 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

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It’s easy to forget about all the good things the Rockets did against the Lakers in their loss Wednesday night, but I saw encouraging signs that bode well for them to become an elite team, and soon.

Like in the first quarter when Yao was aggressive defensively by swatting a Pau Gasol alley-oop attempt away for a block. It could have been goaltending, but it shows that Yao continues to work hard to get more rejections.

Ron Artest had 3 steals in the game’s first 7 ½ minutes, Luis Scola made all of his first 4 shots, and Yao went 5-for-5 at the start of the game.

In the second quarter, the Rockets went on an incredible 24-6 run to end the first half. During the run, I couldn’t help but make a note to myself that the Rockets NOW HAVE MORE ATHLETES which have changed the entire complexion of the team. They’re now younger, faster, and even smarter. That’s going to take them a long way.

Here’s some of the highlights I noted in the second quarter to remind you that it wasn’t that bad of a game for Houston:

7:35 – Von Wafer was really aggressive in stealing a cross-court pass and throwing it down, attacking the basket on another possession, and tipping in his own miss. A little later Wafer attacks the basket and tips in his own miss!

6:08 – Wafer takes it to the rack again and dishes to Carl Landry for a score.

5:48 – Kyle Lowry takes it coast-to-coast, attacks the rim and scores! 10-0 run by Houston. 37-34

5:15 – Luis Scola dishes to Landry for a jam. 39-34. 12-0 run. This quarter is very exciting!

4:54 – Artest knocks the ball away from Josh Powell for a turnover

4:38 – Artest steals the ball again.

4:13 – Lowry then would dish to Scola for a layup. 14-0 run by Houston! 41-34

3:00 – Artest hits a jumper! 16-2 run. 43-36

2:35 – Wafer attacks the basket and is blocked, but the ball is recovered and he hits a 3! 46-38

:55 – Lowry picks the ball up in the backcourt with 8 seconds, then dribbles it back into the frontcourt with the shot clock ticking down, and you wonder if he’s going to do anything, then Yao sets a pick, rolls off it, and Lowry zips the pass to Yao on the move and Yao throws it down with 1 second on the shot clock

:27 – Artest shakes his man out of his jock, takes it strong deep it into the paint, takes the bump in front of the basket, and puts it in!

In the 3rd quarter, Brooks starts it off by blowing Fisher into the lane, dishes to Scola, who scores and is fouled! After Scola hits the free throw, the Rockets lead 54-40.

After that, things went south for the Rockets, but let’s not forget that they were giving the Lakers a run for their money, and if they shoot decent like they normally do, they would have won that game!

I could go through a lot of the details of the Rockets-Lakers game that Houston lost Wednesday night, but I think before people start panicking, it’s more important to address some of the things I think the Rockets need to fix to win games like this one.

Yao Ming throws down a dunk Wednesday against the Lakers, two of 16 points he would score on 7-of-9 shooting in a 102-96 loss. Click here for more photos from the game.

Let’s face it. For the Rockets to try to manufacture a player like Kobe Bryant is not an option. Kobe, who torched the Rockets down the stretch like he has does everyone to everyone, is one of a kind. Obviously, he can score at will when his team really needs a bucket.

There was a time awhile back when Kobe’s future with the Lakers was so much in doubt, there were rumors the Lakers might be willing to give up Kobe for McGrady and some other assets (referenced here in this Chronicle article early last year). For some reason, the Rockets thought the McGrady-Yao combination could still work, so they didn’t pursue it.

That may have been the worst deal the Rockets never made. If they had, this would be a completely different Rockets team in the clutch. Oh well.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love this Rockets team, but how they close out games now would be completely different.

I still think the Rockets can still find a way to win games in the clutch, and I’m not going to freak out because I believe Houston has guys who can hit shots: Yao Ming, Aaron Brooks, Von Wafer, Carl Landry, Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry, and Brent Barry.

I think the Rockets can do it “by committee.” Jonathan Feigen in the Chronicle does a good job here of describing how one of the answers lies in doing pick-and-roll with Brooks or Lowry.

I like Feigen’s suggestions, and the thing I’d like to point out to Yao fans is that Yao would not be the guy setting the pick. That’s because the guy who sets the pick has to be able to cut to the basket once he receives the ball after setting a pick, and probably put the ball on the floor for one dribble before putting up a shot. We all know that when Yao has to dribble, the chance of a turnover goes up. Instead, Landry and Scola are better at that.

Also, on a pick-and-roll, the big guy needs to be able to hit the outside shot. Although I think Yao can hit those shots, he doesn’t seem very comfortable shooting outside of the paint any more. Again, Landry and Scola are better outside shooters than Yao.

So where does that leave Yao? Of course, like Feigen said, I think the first option is to get the ball down low into him. But when you’ve got an aggressive defense like the Lakers were playing Wednesday night on Yao, that’s not always going to work. It will work most of the time, but not against one of the league’s quickest teams, especially when the entry pass is so predictable that it’s easy for players like Pau Gasol to gamble and go for a steal.

That forces you to Plan B, which to me is having Yao kick the ball out to open shooters, kind of like when Yao threw that pass to Brooks late in Wednesday’s game, and AB hit a 3-pointer and was fouled by Derek Fisher, turning it into a 4-point play.

Brooks has proven he can hit the open shot late against Dallas and Phoenix. And Wafer did it in Boston. And I believe Artest has proven it many times this season and his career, too.

The problem arises when no one is hitting outside shots during a particular game. Do you keep going with that strategy or go with something else?

That’s where the pick-and-roll option discussed above might work. I’d say that pick-and-roll should be Plan B2, right behind Plan B1, kicking it out to open shooters.

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Raymond has translated an interview that Yao gave after the Denver game to Sohu Sports. In this piece, Yao talks about the differences between Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry, explains why he tried to steal the ball from Chauncey Billups at halfcourt that fouled him out of the game, and much more. Thanks Raymond!

It’s hard to believe the Rockets pulled out a victory in Denver given the things that had been going against them. It was the second night of a back-to-back, they were playing in the thin air of the Mile High City, and they couldn’t hit their free throws, finishing a pathetic 20-of-35 from the line.

Yao had only scored 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting by halftime, they let a big lead slip away, and Yao fouled himself out of the game with 2:33 remaining on a silly foul at half-court trying to steal the ball from Chauncey Billups.

Yao started off slowly with only 2 points at halftime,
but he would finish with 15 points in a big win in Denver.
Click here for more photos from the game.

But the Rockets came through thanks to a huge 3-pointer by Shane Battier in the corner with 1:02 remaining to give them a 92-85 lead. Throw in a few free throws by Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry after that, and Houston got one of their most surprising road wins of the season.

Although I knew the Rockets were going to be much improved after they put a lot of their past drama behind them during the All-Star break, even I’m surprised they pulled this game out.

Houston started off slowly by shooting only 33% from the floor. But in the second quarter, they finally got it in gear by going on a 16-4 run to take a 34-32 lead, and extended it to 45-40 by halftime.

They had only shot 38% by that time. Ron Artest and Brooks had scored 9 points each, and Carl Landry had 8. But those were the only highlights offensively, given Houston made only 7-of-15 free throws. They offset their lowlights by holding the Nuggets to 34.1% shooting, with Nene Hilario missing 8-of-11 shots, most at point-blank range.

The Rockets started rolling in the 3rd quarter as they opened up a 19-point lead after Artest hit a 3-pointer to cap a 15-0 run.

But you knew the rest of the way wasn’t going to be easy since the Nuggets are still explosive, even after losing 7 of their last 10 games, and have come back 10 times this season when trailing by 10 or more points.

They would do just that, but Yao came back into the game in the fourth quarter, hit a jump hook and a couple of free throws, Battier would hit that 3-pointer, Chuck Hayes would make a huge play in the final minute by sacrificing his body to dive and save a ball that was headed out-of-bounds, and the Rockets would hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal it.

Although he fouled out and only played about 27 minutes, Yao hit 4-of-5 shots in the second half to score 15 points and grab 7 boards. Shockingly, Luis Scola only scored 4 points, but he racked up 15 boards.

Artest was money again scoring 22 points, including 4-of-9 three-pointers. And Brooks continues to answer the call in big games, hitting 7-of-13 shots to score 19. Give credit to the front office and the coaching staff for having faith in Brooks as a starter in this league when no one really thought the same.

But it was their defense that was the key to this win, having held Denver to 38.1% shooting overall.

The Grizzlies may have beaten the Rockets in their second and third matchups this season along with their bench outscoring Houston’s 109-54 in those games, but I knew before their final game Sunday night that it was going to be payback. Memphis had their young studs like Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley rolling in those games, but this time I knew the Rockets’ young guns were going to get payback.

Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, Von Wafer and former Grizzly Kyle Lowry all came through with strong games (32 points in total) Sunday night. Throw in the consistency of double-doubles from Yao Ming (24 points on 9-of-13 shots, 17 boards), Luis Scola (18 points, 14 boards), Ron Artest (13 points on 5-of-10 shots), and a little bit of swagger playing at home where they had won 11 in a row, and you get a 93-83 victory for the Rockets.

Yao Ming blocks the shot of Marc Gasol, one of 3 blocks that Yao racked up during a win. Click here for more photos from the game.

Houston led 28-19 after the first quarter, by 18 points after the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and it was just matter of time before the Rockets put the game away so Brian Cook and Brent Barry could get into the game for garbage time at the 4:27 mark with Houston up by 25 points.

Those 2 losses earlier in the season really hurt, but this win puts a little salve on the wound.

In the first loss to Memphis in December, the Rockets’ defense was terrible, Artest didn’t play, and Luther Head was 1-for-8.

In the second loss on February 4th, the Rockets’ defense was bad again, especially in defending Mayo (32 points) and giving up 53.3% shooting. On offense, McGrady was 0-for-5 from 3-point land, Artest only scored 5 points on 1-of-10 shooting, Wafer had only 5 points, Landry didn’t score, and Brooks didn’t play.

It’s amazing how much has changed for the Rockets since then. It’s like they’re a different team, having gotten younger with the aforementioned young guns, and no longer having two players in the lineup who were like a box of chocolates, wondering what you’re going to get.

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