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Monday December 8, 2008 11:22 PM

Memphis Shocks Shorthanded Rockets


Houston's rally falls short, Rockets lose 109-97

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Click here to listen to the Rockets postgame highlights show.

Houston - For a few fleeting moments, the Rockets threatened to produce a stirring, signature comeback in Memphis. But just as they seemed poised to completely crawl out of their 22-point hole, the Rockets once again fell victim to all the same issues which had put them there in the first place.

The end result: Memphis took advantage of Houston’s myriad deficiencies and thumped a Rockets team missing Tracy McGrady (knee) and Ron Artest (ankle), 109-97.

“We just didn’t play very well,” said coach Rick Adelman after the game. “They were the aggressors all the way. They got the rebounds and got to the basket. They just outworked us tonight. When we weren’t challenging them, we were fouling them. It was just too easy and it snowballed. You can’t win in this league if you are going to give away opportunities. On the road, you have to make stops and we didn’t do it.”

The Rockets (13-8) seemingly found themselves facing a huge deficit right from the opening tip. Memphis began the game with a 10-0 run as Houston’s offense broke down amid a plethora of turnovers and missed shots. In fact, the only two Rockets able to get anything going offensively in the early going were Rafer Alston and Luis Scola. The two combined for 17 of the club’s 19 first quarter points, while Scola had 5 of Houston’s 7 rebounds in the opening frame. But despite that duo’s best efforts, the Rockets still trailed 32-19 after the first 12 minutes.

And things only got worse from there. The Grizzlies extended their lead to a whopping 22 points midway through the second quarter, thanks to some red-hot shooting from behind the arc. Memphis hit its first six shots from downtown, en route to seizing a 48-26 advantage.

But just as the Rockets appeared dead on their feet, they sprung to life thanks to some three-point marksmanship of their own. Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks and Alston connected from deep on consecutive trips down the floor, trimming the Memphis lead to 15. A few minutes later, Von Wafer (15 points) threw down an emphatic dunk off a fastbreak and, somehow, a Rockets team which had once looked so listless and devoid of life, owned all the momentum heading to halftime, having climbed back within 9 at the break.

Houston didn’t stop there. With Wafer leading the way, the Rockets wasted no time furthering their efforts to complete the comeback. The fourth-year guard from Florida State scored 9 points during the first six minutes of the third quarter, as Houston closed the gap to two at 64-62.

The Rockets actually came within two points three different times in the quarter, but that turned out to be as close as they would ever get. Their offense stalled and, even worse, they couldn’t find a way to slow down the woeful Grizzlies (6-15). Memphis closed the final 5:36 of the third on a 15-9 run to make the score 83-75 entering the final frame, and Houston never drew nearer than seven the rest of the evening.

For the game, Memphis shot better than 51% from the field; a far cry from the norm for a team not at all known for its offensive prowess.

“We knew coming in this was a danger game,” said Battier. “They were desperate for a win. Young teams play better at home. We had such a horrible first quarter that it was too much to overcome. We made a run to get back into the game, but it was just too much to overcome to beat a team with life in their building. Once we got it down to two, they just opened it up. We did not respond very well to their run at the end of the third quarter.

“We have never used injuries as an excuse, and we are not going to start now. We have enough good players in this locker room to win ballgames. We just didn’t give the effort that is needed to win a game.”

QUOTES

Rick Adelman

On the team’s offensive struggles:

“I don’t think we shared the ball very well. Guys were trying to do too much on their own and weren’t moving the ball around. I think it was the whole team. We just seemed to be out of sync. We made a run and seemed to get back into it, but we just couldn’t get over the hump.”

ROCKETS GUARD RAFER ALSTON (16 points, 8 assists)

On the loss:

“Turnovers were a factor tonight. I had my share and we need to stay within our offense. When they take Yao (Ming) away, we have to be ready for that. We have practiced that, but when we get out there we seem to get brain-locked. We need to be in attack mode.”

Grizzlies’ Coach Marc Iavaroni

On the win:

“I thought it was a good response to the poor performance against New Orleans. I like the way our guys came out with a lot of fire. We only had a minus-six on three-point shots. Every night we were looking at the stat sheet and we were minus-12 and minus-18 points on three-pointers. We have to shoot better. This team had a franchise record in preseason with 18 threes. We had only half of that. I felt the energy on the court. I felt them feeling us. We were in to them. We had some long stretches. Hakim (Warrick) got us through one of them offensively.”

On regaining momentum:

“I think we made a stand with Hakim (Warrick) offensively. We changed our pick-and-roll coverage. We started to get overextended and that opened up threes in the past. That helped us and we scored off the glass. We rebounded it by four and made sure we didn’t give up second shots.”

On switching the team’s rotation:

“We have won two out of three. At first we just shook up the lineup. We wanted to shake it up after the seven losses. I don’t really have a reason why I like this (lineup) much better. Right now it’s what is best for our team.”

On using Gasol and Milicic to guard Yao:

“Marc (Gasol) gets around Darko and Darko really knows how to front. (Darko’s) just great at that. Sometimes (Darko) does not get the respect he deserves from the officials but that’s another story. They hang out together. They are good friends off the court. Marc is a looker. He is courageous looking. He tried the best he could and just fought the guy. That’s all you can ask for. Yao’s an All-Star and he’s big time in China and big time in the NBA. Those guys get a lot of great experience playing against him.”

GRIZZLIES FORWARD RUDY GAY (20 points, 2 rebounds)

On players knowing their roles:

“Quinton Ross started and gave us some good minutes in the beginning. Hakim gave us a spark.”

On intensity:

“I think with the way we played, then we would have less jerseys for Darko (Milicic).”

On Oklahoma City:

“We let them get away in the fourth quarter. Its payback. That is what it is all about.”

GRIZZLIES CENTER MARC GASOL (10 points, 8 rebounds)

On the physical game:

“That’s how we have to play. We have to come out and try to match anybody. We have to go out and play hard. If we don’t, then we are not that good. We don’t have the experience yet to come out and outplay anybody.”

GRIZZLIES GUARD KYLE LOWRY (11 points, 5 assists)

On the defensive intensity:

“(Last game) New Orleans just started the game off on fire. I think we came out with a more intense focus (tonight). I think our defense controlled our offense.”

On the first quarter:

“We shot the ball well. We moved the ball extremely well. I think most of our baskets were assisted. When you get a game going like that, then you set the tone for the whole game.”

On the Oklahoma City game:

“I think we focus in every game, but this game is going to be an important game. We are going to try to get two wins in a row. We have to go in there and put our will in the game before they put their will in the game.”

GRIZZLIES GREG BUCKNER (8 points)

On the ten man effort:

“I think that we played well defensively. We had a lot of opportunities offensively because we created turnovers on the defensive end.”

Outscoring the opponents bench:

“Tonight was a little deceiving. Rudy (Gay) came off the bench and gave us 20 points. If he had not come off the bench, (our bench) probably would not have outscored them. Tonight they were down a little bit. They were missing two of their best players, and we came out and took advantage of it.”

On the Oklahoma City game:

“You can’t go into a game thinking revenge. You have to go out and take care of your business. We have to go in there and play hard.”

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