A few weeks ago, most people would have looked at Houston's injury situation and quickly dismissed them as a playoff contender. With Tracy McGrady out for the reason, Ron Artest hobbled by a bothersome ankle, and Rafer Alston gone and rookie Aaron Brooks as the new starting point guard, it was difficult to see the Rockets holding onto their playoff spot in the talented Western Conference. But now, with their most recent road win against the San Anotnio Spurs, the Rockets have taken over the second seed in the Western Conference standings and have also legitimized themselves as contenders.
For the Rockets, this was a game of unlikely heroics. And with the Spurs effectively choking off the Rockets' most effective source of offensive production by fronting yao in the post for most of the fourth quarter, such heroics were certainly necessary. After Tony Parker hit a jumper in the lane to put the Spurs up by six points, a few unsung Rockets went to work. Shane Battier hit a three that cut the deficit in half. He then terrorized Roger Mason Jr. on the defensive end, forcing him to lose the ball. Battier dove on the ball, forced a jump ball with Tim Duncan, and alsmost inexplicably, won the jump.
"Very few people beat Tim Duncan on a jump ball," Battier noted proudly. "That's a pretty cool accomplishment. I'm more proud of that than hitting the three's. He's on of the best all-time. I probably did steal it a bit." After stopping the Spurs on another possession, Brooks was able to hit one of his two field goals all game to give Houston an 82-81 lead. After the Spurs took the lead back 83-82, Yao was ready to lead his team. The Spurs, however, would wisely force someone else to be the hero.
On the next Rocket possession, yao took a pass from Brooks in the post and was double-teamed. He found Luis Scoa wide open under the basket for an easy layup that put the Rockets back on top 84-83. At the other end, however, Parker flew right past Yao, needing just nine seconds to give his Spurs the lead right back 85-84. Once again, Houston turned to their 7 foot 6 inch leader. And once again, Yao responded - with another assis. San Antonio double-teamed Yao the second he touched the ball, and forced someone else to beat them. Luis Scola did just that - with another layup.
"I wasn't expecting Yao to throw it," Scola admitted. "Fortunately, he passed it, I made it, we won." Having shown their capability to deal with adversity, against a top tier team, on the road, when their best player is taken out of the play, Houston's playoff prospects look bright.
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