<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>HOUSTON -- Tracy McGrady flung a pass down the court as time expired and pumped his fists towards the sky.He isn't having any trouble putting the Rockets on his sore back. McGrady scored a season-high 38 points and came up with a pair of key assists down the stretch as the Rockets held off the pesky Memphis Grizzlies for a 111-109 victory Sunday night at Toyota Center.The Rockets (19-12) picked up their third straight win and have won three of four games since losing leading scorer Yao Ming to a fractured right tibia.McGrady has been a big reason why after returning from a bout with back spasms earlier this week."I'm playing with a great deal of confidence now," said McGrady, who has played four straight games after missing the previous seven with his injury. "Not having the big fellow out there, a lot rides on my shoulders to carry this team. I'm just accepting the challenge." The Rockets finished with four players in double figures and made a season-high 14 three-pointers.Despite being on the shelf with back spasms only a week ago, McGrady led the way again by breaking the 30-point barrier in his second straight game.He sank 5-of-8 three pointers from the field and sliced up Memphis' defense by persistently attacking the bucket.The Rockets star, however, was at his best in the late stages of the game as he set up his teammates for wide-open looks. "He gets so much attention, sometimes everybody's watching him," Rockets guard Luther Head said. "Guys like myself are trying to find open spots. He has confidence in us to knock down the shots because we're going to be open."Head was certainly one of those guys on the receiving end of McGrady.After watching Memphis pull within 101-95 with just under two minutes remaining, McGrady put the game on his shoulders.The Rockets star drew double teams from Memphis' defense by attacking the basket and found his teammates wide open on the perimeter. Head caught one of those passes with 33.6 remaining, drilling a shot that gave the Rockets a 109-102 advantage.Houston made just enough free throws the rest of the way to pick up the win. "I don't care how much time is on the clock, I feel like I can make it," said Head, who had 18 points and made five three-pointers. "It has nothing to do with the amount of time remaining in the game. I just like shooting the ball."McGrady's play helped the Rockets overcome a tough night on the defensive end.Despite being more a half-court team in the past, the Grizzlies used an uptempo game with interim head coach Tony Barone and surprised the Rockets.Memphis forward Mike Miller made five three-pointers in the first half on his way to a 32-point night and the Grizzlies ended the first half shooting over 60 percent from the field. The Grizzlies took a 59-58 lead into the break thanks to that offensive outburst."We weren't ready to begin the game," Van Gundy said. The good news is that the Rockets had McGrady to help bail them out."McGrady is obviously the initiator of a lot of the action," Van Gundy said. "So when he gets 2 on the ball, Mac trusts implicitly the open man, regardless of who it is. Obviously, and rightfully so, defenses are going to spend most of their resources to Tracy late."</div>http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/McGrady_de...-202684-34.html
Rockets are my second favorite NBA team and it was good to see them win...McGrady is really playing well despite being banged up, but he's gotta step up w/o Yao...
Doing good, hes still worried about his back though, when he takes a hit, he'll be slow for a second just to check. It's a mental thing now, just like Ricky bobby when he sed he was paralyzed
Highlights..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgS7HHos914http://www.sendspace.com/file/mboihz --- Better QualityAll credit goes to Rockets2K from CF.
Gonna need a lot out of T-mac in order for Houston to have a playoff Shot.That means he has to stay around 90% for them to have a shot at anything.
