Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy stares into space for at least 15 seconds after another disheartening loss, this time to Utah 82-74 after Tracy McGrady had to leave the game at halftime to witness the birth of his new baby boy. The Rockets have to be asking themselves if anything else can go wrong this year.

by John

TUESDAY, 12/27/05 – The Rockets cannot catch a break. They had a great chance to break their two-game losing streak Tuesday night. They were playing a struggling Utah Jazz team that settled into Houston around 2:00 AM Tuesday morning after playing in Salt Lake City the night before. The Rockets led 46-41 at halftime, T-Mac came out in the first half very aggressive and scored 21 points, dished 5 assists, grabbed four rebounds, and blocked two shots. It looked like he was going to have a monster game and score 45+ points.

Playing with more energy fueled by T-Mac’s aggressiveness, the Rockets clearly had more confidence and energy, seemingly putting their losing ways behind them. You just felt like the Rockets were going to win this one.

Then typical Houston luck kicked in: T-Mac was told at halftime his fiancee was about to deliver a baby, so he had to leave the game. The Rockets offense fell apart in the second half, and that was it. Game over, man.

At the start of the third quarter, they were outscored on an 11-2 run and missed their first 7 shots. They resorted to rookies Luther Head (2-for-10, 3-of-12 overall) and Stephen Graham (1-of-6 at halftime and overall) jacking up jumpers. No one drove to the hole to create free throw opportunities. Where are you, Mike James?

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Yao reacts in disbelief to a call against him in Utah on Monday night. Yao scored 15 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and had three blocks, but the night belonged to T-Mac, who scored 22 points in the second quarter and 44 points overall to lead the Rockets to a 99-85 victory in Salt Lake. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

MONDAY, 3/28/05 – Although T-Mac finished the fourth quarter in San Antonio on Sunday afternoon with just one basket, who can complain after seeing him collapse to the floor with a very painful hip strain injury just 3 days ago in New Orleans?

Well, after the Utah Jazz saw what he did to them on Monday, they probably want to break that hip, his leg, his knee, and his ankle. You get my drift. T-Mac exploded for a magnificent game that no one will forget anytime soon as he redeemed himself from Sunday’s fourth quarter against the Spurs, beating the Jazz 99-85.

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Yao defends against Utah’s Keith McLeod on Sunday afternoon in Houston. Shockingly, the Rockets lost their third straight, losing to the Jazz 99-92. Yao made 5-of-10 shots for 12 points, grabbed four rebounds and had 3 blocks. Click here for more photos from the game.

by Chia-Chi

SUNDAY, 2/27/05 – So hot they were burning in flames going into the All-Star break, on the turn of a dime the Rockets have gone ice cold. A Rockets team plus new point guard Mikes James played a Utah team minus Carlos Boozer and still couldn’t finish. While James impressed, the Rockets continued to struggle without the help of Bob Sura.

The first quarter was promising as the Rockets took an early lead. David Wesley cut through the Utah defense for four quick points. T-Mac, who of late has not been playing to his top level, stepped up in the first and scored 11 points. Yao also had his way with the Utah defenders and got position deep in the paint, nearly at will. Although he missed some easy shots early on, the fact that he so easily distorted the Utah defense was a positive sign.

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