Rockets fall apart in final minutes against Mavs

[KFDM COOP]

Rockets fall apart in final minutes against Mavs

For much of the night, the Rockets did most of what they had to, and almost everything better than they had been.

Then the game was on the line, needing only two good minutes to beat the Dallas Mavericks and end the losing streak at four games.

With that, everything the Rockets did well, they did poorly. Every way that they could blow the game, they did, with Dallas taking a 100-94 win at Toyota Center on Wednesday.

Leading by five with the ball and with 100 seconds remaining, the Rockets fell apart, much as they had in Dallas earlier in the month.

The Rockets' 17-point third quarter lead had been reduced to as little as three, putting them in position to have to hold off Dallas down the stretch as the Mavericks had against them in the final minutes Nov. 5 in Dallas.

Tracy McGrady, who had 15 points and 12 assists, sank a jumper and then passed to Yao Ming for a layup. The Mavericks, however, kept on their heels, first by isolating Brandon Bass on Yao Ming and then by having Dirk Nowitzki take on Chuck Hayes.

When Nowitzki followed a jumper with a strong drive, the Rockets' lead was cut to 90-86 with 2:49 remaining, giving Nowitzki 18 points to go with 14 rebounds.

That's when the Rockets seemed to have made the break they needed. With Nowitzki powering down the lane and toward the rim, Shane Battier stuffed Nowitzki, McGrady grabbed the rebound and passed ahead to Yao.

Devin Harris plastered Yao, earning a flagrant foul.

But Yao made one just free throws and missed a jumper. Jerry Stackhouse nailed a corner 3 with 1:09 left, before McGrady turned the ball over and Harris got to the rim for a layup, drawing a foul on Yao for a three-point play that put Dallas ahead, 92-91, with 34.2 seconds remaining.

McGrady stepped around a Yao screen, but missed a 19-footer with 24.9 seconds left, forcing the Rockets to quickly foul Stackhouse, who pushed the lead to three, 94-91, with 23.2 seconds remaining.

The Rockets went for the quick basket, with Yao scoring to give him 30 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.

After Stackhouse hit two more free throws, Mike James was fouled, but made just 1 of 2, so that when Stackhouse returned to the line one more time, his two free throws slammed the door.

He added a rub it in dunk with 1.1 seconds left.

There had been a time, however, that the Rockets seemed to be pulling away. They had shown few signs of the offensive surge that was to come in Wednesday's first half, but then, it had been weeks since the Rockets had not rolled as they did in the third quarter.

Beginning with a Yao three-point play and through a 3-pointer that McGrady smacked in off the backboard, the Rockets outscored Dallas, 22-7, to start the second half, building a 15-point lead. The Rockets began scoring so easily, that the Toyota Center crowded groaned in surprise when Rafer Alston (ital)missed (end ital) a 3-poiinter.

By then, he had already made 6 of his first 9 shots, McGrady had 10 assists, most in Yao's 12-point third quarter, and the Rockets had built their largest lead, 74-57.

They also began to cool off, as if caught as much in the law of averages as the Mavericks' defense.

By midway through the fourth quarter, Dallas had reduced its 17-point deficit to three.

But other than that sudden third-quarter surge, the Rockets had been unable to distance themselves from the Mavericks with apparent chances throughout the night.

Though they trailed by only 47-46 at halftime, the Rockets seemed to have wasted a half in which the Mavericks did not hit them with anything like their usual offensive production.

Nowitzki had just seven points. Terry, who had torched them for 31 points in the first meeting, made just 2 of 7 shots. Jerry Stackhouse, who had 16 that night, had just four in the first half.

Yet after taking an eight-point lead midway through the first quarter, the Rockets seemed to be barely hanging on.

Though McGrady came back from his sprained elbow, his shot had not yet recovered. He made 2 of 9 attempts in the first half, and shifted into playmaker mode. Yao had a 10-point first quarter, but just two in the second quarter when the Rockets made just 6 of 16 shots.

Then the second half began, the Rockets spread the floor, with McGrady and Yao running pick and roll in the middle, and suddenly everything clicked.

The question, particularly after Dallas came back from a 24-point deficit the night before, if the Rockets could make that roll last, or if not, if a 17-point cushion would be enough.

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[king]

this game made me sick! We were up 17 at the end of the 3rd and we could not close it out? Well there is another chance blown by to beat the mavs..im gald i didnt get tickets to go to the game :'(

[bullets13]

Sometimes it's good to be a mavs fan...