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Wednesday December 10, 2008 1:21 AM

Rockets Rally Past Hawks 92-84


Houston rides incredible fourth quarter run to victory

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - Team Resiliency did it again.

Still smarting from a discouraging loss to lowly Memphis one night earlier, the Rockets used a phenomenal fourth quarter rally to soar past Atlanta 92-84. It was just the latest in what’s quickly become a long line of big wins for a club which has shown a remarkable propensity for being able to bounce back from even the most bitter of defeats.

When asked to explain why his team displays such a knack for responding to adversity, Yao Ming, the lynchpin of Tuesday’s comeback, said the answer lies in the fact that losing affects him and his teammates on a personal level.

“We are men,” explains Yao. “We feel bad about those losses. We cannot forgive ourselves for playing a game like [Monday] night; it’s really tough. So you want somebody to pay for it, which is your next opponent. I think that’s how it is.”

The Rockets (14-8) certainly made sure the Hawks felt the full force of their frustration; it just took them awhile to hammer the point home.

In a bit of role reversal from the night before, Houston was the team which came out clicking right off the bat. The Rockets began the game with a 13-0 run, built on the strength of their red-hot offense and some lousy Atlanta shooting. The Hawks missed their first 12 shots from the field en route to a 4-of-22 first quarter performance.

Meanwhile, Houston’s frontcourt was well on its way to taking control of the game. Yao, Luis Scola and Shane Battier combined to shoot 13-17 from the floor, with Yao also adding 8 rebounds – double his total from Monday night – in the first half alone.

“I saved them for today,” quipped Yao, who collected a season-high 19 boards by the time all was said and done. “[Against San Antonio] I had one rebound and [Monday] night I had four. I’m a 7-6 center. So it really bothers me.”

But Yao’s big bounce-back game almost went for naught. Atlanta stormed all the way back from their 16-point first half deficit and appeared ready to crush the Rockets’ hope of redemption when Josh Smith drained a three-pointer with 7:58 remaining, staking the Hawks to a 76-68 lead. Houston immediately called timeout and the jubilant Atlanta players happily skipped back to the bench.

Little did they know, the resilient Rockets had them right where they wanted them.

Houston absolutely owned crunch time, using an airtight defense and opportunistic offense to spark an incredible 22-2 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes. Carl Landry and Yao (24 points, 19 rebounds, 2 blocks) simply refused to be denied down low and Ron Artest, bum ankle and all, was big on both ends; shutting down the ever-dangerous Joe Johnson in addition to hitting a borderline miraculous corner trey as the shot clock expired which put the Rockets back in front for good.

As Houston's lead grew, so did the buzz in the arena as everyone waited for the seemingly inevitable exclamation mark. And Rafer Alston was only to happy to oblige, knocking down one of his patented dagger treys at the 2:30 mark to set off a raucous Toyota Center celebration.

“I’m proud of our guys,” said Shane Battier. “[ Atlanta] made a run; we’re down eight in our building, second game of a back-to-back, a lot of teams would have laid down. But the fans were tremendous, they gave us a big boost and Ron and Yao were great down the stretch for us.

“Tonight was a character win. If you can get a few character wins during the year, it really makes a difference at the end of the season. And tonight was one of those.”

QUOTES

ROCKETS COACH RICK ADELMAN

(On the win) “It's a really good win against a good team. We were really up and down. Obviously, both teams had their moments. We talked about at half time, how with Bibby and Johnson, they can just start making shots and long shots and that's what Johnson started doing in the second half. He brought them back and got them the lead but our guys, they didn't quit, they responded and they finished the game off really strong.”

(On the importance of the game)“It was an important game because we had a miserable night last night and we're going out on the road again for two more games, so it was a very important game against a good team. It's a big win for us. The guys really stayed with it in the fourth quarter when we got down and they responded big time and they made big plays down the stretch.”

(On Ron Artest) “I thought he was really struggling during the course of the game. I thought his ankle was really bothering him and he wasn't moving very good but he certainly came in the fourth quarter and got into Johnson and really made him take tough shots and stayed with him the whole time. I thought his defense on Johnson was the biggest factor at the end of the game more than anything else, he didn't give him any room. That was a huge factor.”

(on bringing his starters back into the game with 8 minutes left): It was now or never. We had to get back in the game right then. I wanted to get Yao back in for sure; I just didn’t think they had anybody [who could guard him]. I thought that if he got aggressive and had opportunities, he was going to score and that would open it up for everybody else. So I thought we had to do something right then; we couldn’t let them open the lead up any more.

(on Yao): I think everybody has a tendency sometimes to overreact to a good game, or bad game or whatever it is. There are some nights when it’s just not there. Last night, [the Grizzlies] were fronting him, not letting him touch the ball; they were making a ton of shots last night and we weren’t and they were getting to the rim and finishing on us. But tonight, [the Hawks] missed a lot of shots early, they missed a lot of jump shots, and the opportunities were there for [ Yao] to go get it. He’s right there and he’s going to get his share. So I think it’s got to be a response. I’m sure he was disappointed last night and he responded accordingly, and I think our whole team did.

(on teams fronting Yao): You have to make a decision on him. I still say that’s going to be something we have to continue to get better at. Yao has to get better at it when they take the ball out of his hands. We have to find a way to move the ball around and he has to have the patience to know it’s going to come back to him sooner or later. That’s a hard job, trying to front him time after time. He’s got to have patience and we have to have an understanding of what we’re trying to do.

YAO MING

(On his offensive success in the fourth quarter) “In the fourth quarter I tried to catch the ball deeper and they really did not come with the double team. They tried to play me one on one with Horford and Pachulia. I had missed several easy layups in the third quarter. I didn't know how I missed them. I continued to shoot them.”

(On the Rockets win after a loss in Memphis) “Today was a very physical game and they are athletic at many positions. Last night we had a tough loss and today learned from last night and we came out really strong even though it was the second night of a back-to-back. We had a really good start, but then we didn't sustain the intensity and focus; we were inconsistent and let them come back. I think the way we played in the fourth quarter, we finished better now, but we need to stay that way for the whole forty-eight minutes.”

RON ARTEST

(On the game) “I think we fell asleep a little bit. We had the lead early and we let them back in it. They have got some good players over there, but then Yao took over. They didn't really want to come off the shooters. They left Yao by himself and he made them pay.”

(On defending Joe Johnson) “Joe is a really tough cover. You have to try to stay in front of him. There are going to be nights where Shane has it rolling defensively, but I'm not rolling defensively. There are going to be nights where he's going to be guarding some of the best players and there are going to be nights where I guard the best player.”

RAFER ALSTON

(On the energy) “It was very important. We came out strong, but we let up. That’s one of the things that we can’t have happen. We were up 25-9. All we have to do is step on the gas a little bit more and the game might have been over early. But then you have to give them credit. They stuck in there and made it a fight to the finish.”

(On having Artest play tonight) “It gives us more options out there. The guy has been in the trenches, so you know what you’re going to get from him. It also gives us more defense which is what we were lacking before (against Memphis).”

SHANE BATTIER

(on the team’s play down the stretch): I think we did them better; we were a little sharper. We had a problem with turnovers, which really allowed them back in the game. We really locked in defensively, we were active and when we’re like that – especially late in a game – it’s tough to beat us.

(on having Ron back): I’m not a very good defender right now, so I’m thankful to have Ron Artest on this team. He can take the big dogs. We saw what happened when I switched on to Joe Johnson – he scored a quick seven points. Then Ron got in the game pretty quickly and did a great job on him. So I’m happy to work on my help-side defense for once.

(on the defense down the stretch): We were swarming. You saw what happened when we don’t have the energy and cover for each other, when they made their run and took their lead. But in the fourth quarter, we had a bunch of guys who clogged up the paint, made them take long jump shots, and did a much better job of getting the defensive rebound. And that’s just good defense.

LUIS SCOLA

(On the game) “I think we responded when they came back and they got up by eight (points) in the fourth quarter. We stayed with it. We kept it calm and we played the way we had to. We came back and we ended up winning the game. We need to start games the way we did today but we need to stay consistently the whole game.”


COACH MIKE WOODSON

(on the key to the game)  “It was the last six minutes we went up by eight and we got very happy like the game was already over. They came back and we had no answer for them. We’re playing hard but not for 48 minutes.”

 (on the Rockets)   “Ron Artest’s play was huge and so was Yao Ming’s play down the stretch. Give Houston credit defensively they got up in us and we didn’t make the plays.”

MIKE BIBBY

(on the game)   “Our shots weren’t going down and we had too many turnovers. It wasn’t like we weren’t going inside but our shots weren’t falling. Ron (Artest) did a good job. He took over the game and he made plays down the stretch.”

JOE JOHNSON

(on his team’s play)   “We should have closed them out in the fourth quarter and we didn’t get the job done. When Yao came back we couldn’t answer. Then the game turned really ugly.”

 JOSH SMITH

(on the game)   “ Houston got to the free throw line and slowed down the game for us. Artest was big. He knocked down shots and really got after it on the defensive end.”

 AL HORFORD

(on the key to the game)   “Artest came up big in the second half. He hit a very tough

3-pointer in the fourth quarter and that was a gigantic change in the game.”

(on defending Yao)    “He is the toughest guy I have to guard in the league because of his size. I feel more comfortable this year defending him because my offensive game has gotten better,”

NOTES

The Rockets took a 92-84 decision against Atlanta tonight to extend Houston ’s home winning streak over the Hawks to 10 games (6-0 at Toyota Center ). The Rockets actually dropped a 16-point lead and trailed by as much as eight points in the second half of tonight’s game.

Houston has yet to be swept in a back-to-back this season responding to a 109-97 loss last night at Memphis (12/8/08) with the win tonight. Overall, the Rockets have spilt four of six back-to-backs and swept their opponents in the other two.

The Rockets and Hawks each had all five starters in double-figure point totals tonight. For Houston, it marked the third time this season to have all five starters in double-digit scoring (others: 11/1/08 vs. Oklahoma City and 11/29/08 vs. San Antonio ).

Houston outscored Atlanta by a 54-36 margin in the paint tonight, including a 32-14 edge in the first half of tonight’s game.

The Rockets matched their season high in rebounds with 57 tonight. The two teams actually combined for 97 boards with the Hawks registering 40 rebounds. The Rockets (56) and Hawks (52) also combined for 108 rebounds in the last meeting between these two teams at Atlanta (3/12/08).

Houston had four players post two blocked shots in guiding the Rockets to a season-best nine blocks.

The Hawks, who were 8-for-21 from behind the 3-point line, entered tonight’s game a combined 0-of-16 from 3-point range in their previous two visits to Toyota Center (0-11 3FG on 12/29/06; 0-5 3FG on 2/9/08).

Yao Ming topped Houston with 24 points (11-20 FG) and a season-high 19 rebounds (15 defensive), which marked his 12th double-double of the season. Yao also led five Rockets in double-digit scoring by posting 28 points, nine rebounds and two blocks last season vs. Atlanta (2/9/08).

Ron Artest returned to the lineup tonight, notching 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Luis Scola finished with 12 points (6-10 FG) and 10 boards. Scola now has at least 10 rebounds in each of the last three games.

Rafer Alston registered 12 points and six assists tonight. He has now reached at least six assists in eight of his last 11 games.

Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 22 points on 8-for-19 shooting (3-8 3FG). In the second meeting of 2007-08, Johnson topped the Hawks with 28 points (9-25 FG) at Atlanta (3/12/08).

Mike Bibby added 15 points (3-5 3FG), but was held without an assist for the first time this season.

Josh Smith recorded 13 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals. It marked his fourth double-double of the season.

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