Web posted
Friday, March 7, 2008
Rockets keep on rolling, win 17th straight
By JAIME ARON
AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) -- So what if the Dallas Mavericks were without Dirk Nowitzki. The Houston Rockets have been without Yao Ming for five games now and it hasn't slowed them any.
Tracy McGrady highlighted a 31-point, nine-assist performance with a dunk off a halfcourt pass from Rafer Alston early in the fourth quarter and the Rockets beat the Nowitzki-less Mavericks 113-98 Thursday night.
It extended Houston's franchise-record winning streak to 17 games and it was the fifth win since Yao was lost to a season-ending foot injury.
''Whoever we play, whoever's on the court, that's our task,'' McGrady said. ''Last season he was out for 2 1/2 months, so now we're back to that same situation. We have to play more small ball. Rick's offense really benefits the team we have without Yao.''
In coach Rick Adelman's first year with the Rockets, he has already has made a dent in the record books. This win streak matches the seventh-longest in NBA history.
Houston will try moving into a tie for fourth Saturday night at home against New Orleans, the next team they can catch for a top-tier seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets are 41-20, the Hornets 41-19.
''There is just a real confidence about the way (we're) playing,'' Adelman said. ''There's a trust in each other and it's just a pleasure to see. As a coach, it's just fun to watch a group of guys come together like they have and maintain this over such a period of time.''
In other NBA games Thursday, Chicago overcame 39 points from LeBron James to beat Cleveland 107-96, and San Antonio won its 11th straight by beating Indiana 108-97.
Josh Howard scored 21 points and Terry had 17 for Dallas, which lost its third straight and fourth in five games. The Mavs also had won 12 straight at home -- but this time they were without Nowitzki, who was serving a one-game suspension for a hard foul on Utah's Andrei Kirilenko.
''We definitely missed him,'' Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. ''But no excuse for our performance tonight. We just had an awful, awful third quarter.''
After consecutive long jumpers by Jason Kidd tied it at 55 early in the period, the Rockets answered with a 13-3 run and weren't challenged again. The Alston-to-McGrady alley-oop pushed Houston's lead to 19. A timeout followed and fans started leaving with 8:42 left.
''They just outworked us -- to a man, every position,'' Mavericks guard Jason Terry said. ''That's something we can't allow to happen. ... They're playing well together right now, but at the same time there's not a team we can't beat.''
Dallas' offense was out of whack without Nowitzki, and his team-best 23.6 points and 8.7 rebounds. His absence was especially obvious during the third-quarter meltdown, when the Mavericks kept looking for someone to get the ball to but instead kept turning it over. Dallas had seven turnovers in the period, leading to 12 points for Houston.
The Rockets -- who'd been 0-3 against the Mavs this season -- won by sharing the ball and by protecting it. As of midway through the fourth quarter, when victory was secure, Houston had 22 assists and four turnovers.
''The third quarter we were terrific, just controlled the tempo at both ends of the court,'' Adelman said. ''We just have to continue on with the same attitude and same intensity.''
Carl Landry scored 17 points, including 12 in the second quarter, and Luis Scola added 12 points and nine rebounds for Houston.
Jerry Stackhouse was the only other double-digit scorer for Dallas with 11. Kidd had seven points, six assists and six rebounds. Brandon Bass, who started for Nowitzki, had seven points.
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