GAME: Houston Rockets(4-6) vs. LA Lakers(5-4) LOCATION: Staples Center, Los Angeles TIME: Saturday November 20th, 2:30PM PROBABLE STARTERS SF Jim Jackson/Bobby Simmons PF Maurice Taylor/Elton Brand C Yao Ming/Chris Wilcox PG Charlie Ward/Marko Jaric SG Tracy McGrady/Corey Maggette TEAM LEADERS Rockets: Tracy McGrady-20.4 points per game Yao Ming-8.2 rebounds per game Tracy McGrady-5.1 assists per game Clippers: Corey Maggette-21.3 points per game Elton Brand-8.2 rebounds per game Marko Jaric-4.6 assists per game KEYS TO THE GAME <u>Rockets</u> 1: Yao-za!-As always, Yao Ming's production will factor greatly into the outcome of the game. It seems that whenever Yao has a good game, the Rockets always find ways to win or lose by a close margin. The Clippers have no one tall enough to be able to contest Yao's jumpers, so expect him to have a field game this afternoon. 2:Protect Leads-For the last games, the Rockets entered the crucial stretch with a sizeable lead. Only to see it break apart. The Atlanta used a 14-0 run to close out the game and beat Houston, while the Knicks scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to tie the game. There must be no let-ups this time. The Rockets will have to work on protecting leads accumulated through the first three quarters and make sure the opposing team does not have any chance to come back. 3:Bench Contributes-The Rockets bench will have to do their part tonight. With only three players in double-digits scoring wise, the Houston subs will have to take on the scoring load. Both Juwan Howard and Tyronn Lue are able to score 10 points a game and they would need to if the Rockets were to win. <u>Clippers</u> 1:Crash the Boards-The Clippers have several great rebounders in Elton Brand, Chris Wilcox in the frontcourt and Simmons and Maggette on the wing. Against the Rockets team that is the last in the league in rebounding, the Clippers have to get a lot of second chances. Brand is a lock for four offensive rebounds and expect him to use his long arms to secure about seven second chances alone. 2:Get Out On The Break-The Clippers are a great running team. They get a fair amount of fast break points each game, and against the Houston defense that is not good transitionally, the Clippers will have to take advantage. All five of the Clippers can run the floor and they get out on the break often. They should have monster games if they outrun the Rockets defenders off steals and long rebounds. 3:Attack The Basket-The Clippers have very good slashers in Corey Maggette and Bobby Simmons. If these two players can attack the basket and get Yao Ming and Maurice Taylor into foul trouble, the Clippers will find it much easier to win this game. GAME PREDICTION Rockets-93 Clippers-88
AHHH CLOSE GAME! 80-81 and we MISSED! Yao fouled so then hes out becuase he has 6 fouls. Chris Wilcox taking FT AND MISSES FIRST ONE! Made 2nd.... 82-80... ....MCGRADY FOULED GOING TO BASKET! still 82-80 T-Mac shooting FTs..he HAS to make these! 82-80 with 1.1 seconds left...Tmac makes first...Tmac makes 2nd good! NOTHING BUT NET! 1.1 secs left in regulation, Clips have one last chance to seal the game...please don't let this be like the Knick game..we need to DEFEND! I personally see overtime, and we'll take overtime...we have to! this is a must-win game for us IMO. OVERTIME HERE WE GO!
Mutombo wins tip...remember Yao is out with 6 fouls. Tmac will have to take it up a notch. Wow both teams are shooting horribly..YES! Tmac makes first point in OT added to his 29 points. 3.30 left in OT. Magette misses 3 pointer...Rocket ball. 84-82 Rockets up WOOOO TMAC MAKES ANOTHER SHOT! Season-High for Tmac 31 points. 86-82. Wilcox hits for Clippers 86-84 2.40 left in OT. NVM about the 3 FTS...Rockets have to take it in Mo takes a shot and swishes it. Other side Livingston makes a layup i think? Score is 88-86, Mutombo fouled but non-shooting. Rockets taking it back out. Coming back later with the results of the game.
OT GAME IS OVER! ROCKETS SNAP 2 GAME WINNING STREAK! Tmac with 33 points and wins this game for us. Score is 91-86. Good win.
the game should never be this close...even if the rockets win, they have some serious issues still...
I missed the game. How were they defending Yao? He had a terrible night. I'm guessing they fronted him and double teamed him? He alway struggles when they front him.
Tmac needs to get this many freethrows every game 14/15..there's no reason not to..he has the ability to drive in like kobe but he doesn't usually average this many fts. We really need this from him because we don't have anybody else who can consistently get us to the ft line. Yao could but he's inconsistent. Kobe and Ron Artest can get on to the FT line consistently which is why they' can get a lot of free points. Tmac has the ability but I don't know why he doesn't do it every night.
This game is one of the cases where Yao couldn't show up and T-Mac just took over. Very spirited effort from our team and were we lucky to come out with a victory on the road! It just happens that we snap a two-game losing streak in the process, which is good too. Very nice. :thumbsup:
The Rockets could/should easily be 7-4 right now despite dropping their first 2 games of the season on the road. That has me half pissed and half hopeful... Good win though...maybe this will finally give T-Mac a sense of belonging on this team. Not too much though...he already took too many jumpers tonight. Speaking of T-Mac's jumpers, he needs to stop taking shots from on or just inside the 3 point line. It's the worst shot in basketball and he does it CONSTANTLY.
