Wheeeeew!
Ok The Texans Lose a close one but the Rockets made it easier for sports fans to sleep.
HOUSTON – Finally.
After more than a week’s worth of heartbreaking losses and discouraging injuries, the Rockets got off the regular season schneid Sunday night with a complete and utter 120-94 dismantling of the woeful Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center.
It was the sort of start to finish, full 48-minute performance Houston had been seeking to deliver since suffering a slew of fourth quarter flameouts to start the season. This time, however, the Rockets made sure the final frame was reserved for nothing more than mop-up duty, having by then already left the Timberwolves floating far behind like little more than hardcourt flotsam and jetsam.
The Rockets actually charted a course for a rout right from the start, despite dealing with some errant shooting in the early going. Houston hit just 28 percent of its shots in the first quarter, yet still managed to end the period with a 26-14 lead thanks to some stifling defense and a 17-4 run capped by a highlight-reel worthy, no-look bounce pass from Ish Smith to Chuck Hayes.
Smith, making his first-ever NBA start because of injuries to fellow point guards Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry, acquitted himself quite well on the evening, producing 7 points and 6 assists – with just 1 turnover – while running the offense and repeatedly breaking down Minnesota’s D with his arresting combination of speed and quickness. Rockets’ head coach Rick Adelman had taken the undrafted rookie aside before the game, offering a few last-minute pointers to his young charge about the importance of pushing the pace and imbuing the offense with good ball movement. By and large, Smith succeeded, steering the Rockets’ ship with a steady hand.
The second quarter, however, belonged to a pair of Houston’s more experienced practitioners, as Yao Ming and Kevin Martin took turns lighting up the scoreboard, combining for 23 of Houston’s 34 points in the frame. Minnesota simply had no answer for the Rockets’ potent inside-outside game, often resorting to either hacking Yao or leaving Martin wide-open to deliver blow after blow from the perimeter. Both options proved fatal to the Timberwolves’ rapidly fleeting hopes for survival, as Houston’s lead ballooned to 23 by the break.
And having succumbed to one stomach-churning second-half stumble after another to start the season, Luis Scola came out of halftime bound and determined to ensure the Rockets would not suffer a similar fate on this evening. Scola erupted for 13 points in the third quarter, doing the vast majority of his damage at the free throw line where he was sent a whopping 13 times in the period. In fact, the 4 th-year forward set a career-high for free throw attempts in a game, finishing with a 12-for-17 mark at the charity stripe, as part of his game-high 24-point, 8 rebound performance.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Rockets were on cruise control, relaxing all their starters save Smith, and basking in the glow of a 30-point lead. The festive finish provided the team with a welcome respite from its rocky start; one which the Rockets know they must continue to work to overcome if they hope to accomplish the goals they laid out for themselves before the season began.
“We couldn’t play loose,” said Scola. “We needed to use a sense of urgency. We were 0-5 and you can say all the things about the first five games but the truth is that we lost them all. You can say we have a tough schedule, we have injuries, we have the Yao situation, or we’ve been in every game, but the truth is that we lost them all. If we want to be a playoff team, a championship contender – if we want to be that kind of team, we can’t afford to look for excuses to lose, we need to find a way to win regardless of the situation.”
And 1s: Before the game, Rockets head coach Rick Adelman told the assembled media that he expects Aaron Brooks to miss “at least two weeks” with a sprained left ankle. The news is much better regarding back-up point guard Kyle Lowry, however. Adelman said he’s hopeful the 5 th year product of Villanova could see playing time Wednesday against Washington, if he proves able to practice on Tuesday. Lowry has missed Houston’s last two games due to recurring back spasms. He received an injection to treat the issue on Saturday.
