<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>In the midst of a brutal road stretch, the Houston Rockets will play their fourth game in five days on Saturday, but at least their two biggest stars will be relatively rested when they take on the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.The Rockets (13-6) improved to 8-1 against Eastern Conference teams with a 92-62 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. The victory, which ran Houston's road record to 5-5, was so easy that Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming both got to rest for most of the fourth quarter.McGrady scored 23 points while Yao added 21 before they headed to the bench with the game well in hand.``I was praying for one of those games where we didn't have to play the fourth quarter,'' McGrady said. ``I really felt good, offensively and defensively.''The Rockets weren't particularly impressive offensively, but they didn't need to be. The 62 points allowed were a franchise low. Houston also outrebounded Charlotte 51-46 and scored 21 points off Bobcats turnovers.``It's just shows what type of team we can be if we bring that type of approach every night,'' McGrady said. ``You just don't have it offensively some nights. But from a defensive standpoint we can definitely be great night in and night out.''This is part of a stretch of eight road games out of 10 for Houston. Following Saturday's game against Washington, the Rockets return home to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday before beginning a five-game road trip two days later.This is the second and final meeting between the Rockets and Wizards this season. Houston defeated Washington 86-82 on Nov. 22, as Yao had 25 points and 14 rebounds while McGrady added 13 points and 12 boards.The Rockets have won six of the last seven meetings between the teams, with the lone exception a 101-98 defeat March 2, 2005, at the Verizon Center. Washington has not defeated Houston by more than a three-point margin since winning 103-92 at home on Dec. 26, 1999.The last time the two teams met, Washington (9-10) was in the midst of a season-high four-game losing streak. Since then, the Wizards have won five of six, including a 113-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.Although Philadelphia was playing without star Allen Iverson, the Wizards trailed by as many as 20 points in the second quarter. Washington rallied back, though, going on an 18-2 run in the third to take control of the contest.``It was a struggle at first. The shots just weren't going down,'' said Wizards coach Eddie Jordan. ``We were calm throughout. I thought we had a chance.''Gilbert Arenas scored 32 points - the third straight game and fourth in the last five that he's scored at least 30 - while Caron Butler added 20 points and 11 rebounds.The Wizards, who are playing the next three games at home, have won a season-high three straight overall. Washington is 7-2 at the Verizon Center this season. Copyright 2006 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited</div>http://www.nba.com/games/20061209/HOUWAS/preview.htmlNBA.com preview.<span style="color:#FF0000"><u>Houston Rockets</u></span>Record - 13 - 6 (.684)Standings: Second, Southwest<span style="color:#FF0000"><u>Starting 5</u></span>PG: <span style="color:#FF0000">Rafer Alston</span>SG: <span style="color:#FF0000">Tracy McGrady</span>SF: <span style="color:#FF0000">Shane Battier</span>PF: <span style="color:#FF0000">Chuck Hayes</span>C: <span style="color:#FF0000">Yao Ming</span><span style="color:#3366FF"><u>Washington Wizards</u></span>Record: 9 - 10 (.474) Standings: Second, Southeast <span style="color:#3366FF"><u>Starting 5</u></span>PG: <span style="color:#3366FF">Gilbert Arenas</span>SG: <span style="color:#3366FF">DeShawn Stevenson</span>SF: <span style="color:#3366FF">Caron Butler</span>PF: <span style="color:#3366FF">Antawn Jamison</span>C: <span style="color:#3366FF">Etan Thomas</span>Let's go <u><span style="color:#FF0000">Rockets</span></u>!
Halftime. 51-52 Wizards.Both teams are playing pretty good. Nice shooting from both teams aswell.McGrady with 16 and Yao with 13 and 5 Blocks. McGrady is really playing aggressive today. He has this " The <u>F</u>uck you lookin' at? " look.
AWWWWWWWWWWWWW HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLL NO! McGrady went for Arenas shot then stepped on his foot and landed awkwardly which caused a Back Spasm. <u>F</u>UCK MAN! LETS HOPE IT AIN'T SERIOUS!On a postive note, Head is playing amazing.EDIT:Well, It doesn't appear he stepped on his foot. He just came down and held his waist.
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Yaorsquos_...-199430-34.html<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Before leaving town early this week for the Rockets's three-game road trip, Houston center Yao Ming confirmed that he's more comfortable shouldering the offensive load when Tracy McGrady is not on the court.He didn't do a bad job of proving it in his first real opportunity.With McGrady leaving in the fourth quarter with back spasms and the Rockets clinging to a small lead against an uptempo team, the center took over the game in the final period and led Houston to a 114-109 victory over the Washington Wizards Saturday night at Verizon Center.Yao had one of the best quarters of his five-year NBA career against Washington. He scored 23 of his season-high 38 points in the fourth and buried a baseline jumper with 11.4 seconds remaining to seal Houston's fourth win in five games. The center added 11 rebounds and six blocked shots just for good measure.Yao simply came up big in McGrady's absence -- right when his team needed him most. "It changed my play," Yao said of his approach when McGrady left the game. "Tracy is our best player and somebody had to step up. I know how to play without him, shoot the ball and be more aggressive."The question now is how long will the Rockets be counting on their big man to carry the offense without McGrady.The Rockets swingman, who missed 34 games last season with various back problems, was helped off the court midway through the fourth quarter with back spasms.When asked about the injury after Saturday's game, McGrady said he was already beginning to feel better. His status for Tuesday's game against the Lakers and beyond wasn't immediately known. "I don?t know what happened ? I stepped on somebody?s foot and I lost my footing and a spasm shot to my back immediately," McGrady said. "I think it's a little different. The pain level is definitely different. I feel pretty good right now walking around."The Rockets swingman was once again showing signs of pulling out of an early-season shooting slump by attacking the basket and sinking 28 points through 3 1/2 quarters. But McGrady's vintage night took a wrong turn midway through the fourth quarter.After leaping to contest a three-point attempt by Washington's Gilbert Arenas, McGrady landed awkwardly on the guard's foot and almost immediately reached for his lower back. The Rockets' star swingman had to be helped off the court."Obviously it's not good, but I don?t want anything to detract from what the guys did tonight ? and Tracy," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He played on the fourth game in five nights. He played an energetic, really good game. So we?ll see where he is in the coming days."Despite holding a mere 93-91 advantage when McGrady left the floor, the Rockets actually extended their lead after the six-time All-Star left the floor.Luther Head hit a pair of three-pointers in a one minute span to ignite an 8-2 run and Houston ended up with a comfy 103-95 lead with just over four minutes remaining.The Wizards, however, came roaring back.After Caron Butler converted a free throw for a three-point play to pull Washington within 108-104, Arenas stole a pass and darted down court for layup to trim Houston's lead to two with 1:05 left on the clock.That's when Yao took over.The Rockets center got inside for layup and then, after a miraculous three-pointer from Washington center Calvin Booth, Yao came up big again when he made a turnaround baseline jumper with 11.4 seconds remaining.Arenas, who scored a game-high 41 points, missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with eight seconds left after having to rush a shot over Yao's outstretched arm.The Rockets center's performance was enough to help his team win without McGrady down the stretch for a night."Yao took over for me in the fourth quarter ? he had 23 in the fourth quarter," McGrady said. "That?s what the big fella can do. He?s comfortable carrying the team now</div>Is it okay to say Phew?
Hopefully Tmac's back doesn't become an issue once again because he has been playing great and I would hate to see him once again begin to struggle
Well he did say that the pain was different from last year and it doesn't hurt as much. So I guess that's okay. Im still scared...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atm_3XSFEqgSome highlights from the game. Check out 33 secs into the highlights clip, Shane battier gets purposely tripped.
The first time I watched the clip I didnt see Shane Battier fall. That should be a highlight on espn or something
Can we finally dispense with the "overrated" talk for Yao and go into the "MVP" discussion? Seriously, this was definitely Yao's best game of the season, his best fourth-quarter performance of his career, and one of his best 5 games ever.
