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McGrady carries Rockets in Chinese showdown
Houston 91, Milwaukee 83
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
MILWAUKEE -- Nearly an hour after wrapping up one of the most watched basketball games in NBA history, Tracy McGrady still couldn't fathom that more fans tuned in to watch a regular season basketball game than any of the previous Super Bowls.
McGrady, of course, had heard that 200 million Chinese fans were expected to watch the second meeting between Houston's Yao Ming and Milwaukee's Yi Jianlian.
"That's double the number of people watching a regular-season NBA game than the Super Bowl," McGrady said. "That's amazing, right there. Those two guys are icons."
McGrady still managed to steal the show from them.
Before a massive viewing audience in the Far East and a packed house at the Bradley Center, McGrady stole the show from China's marquee big men and carried the Rockets to a 91-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.
McGrady netted 10 of his game-high 33 points in the final three minutes and collected 11 rebounds to sink Milwaukee's chances of making a late comeback.
The vintage performance from the seven-time All-Star helped the Rockets (27-20) collect their seventh straight road win and continue their march back up the Western Conference standings. Houston is now within 1 1/2 games of Golden State for the eighth and final playoff spot.
with Yao and Yi struggling from start to finish in a game that was billed the Super Bowl of China, McGrady took center stage. He canned one big shot after another and had his best showing since returning from a left knee injury about two weeks ago.
"It was a great a feeling because No. 1, my body felt good," McGrady said. "My knee didn't bother me at all. It was a good feeling. I was real confident. I felt real healthy and I felt light on my feet."
He didn't feel that way in recent games.
Not quite comfortable making sharp cuts or pulling up for quick jumpers in recent games, the Rockets star had resorted to creating shots for his teammates as he dealt with the pain in his left knee.
That, however, changed in the Brew City.
With the Bucks doubling Yao as soon as the national anthem was finished, McGrady aggressively attacked the lane and didn't have any trouble breaking down his defenders. He was especially a tough guard for Milwaukee's helpless defense when the game was on the line. He accounted for 10 of Houston's final 13 points.
"He makes good decisions down the stretch," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "He can really pass the ball and once he starts making jump shots like that, he's really tough to guard."
Just ask the Bucks.
Behind a slew of second-chance opportunities and a productive performance from Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee had inched within 78-74 with 2:54 remaining and looked like they had a chance of snapping Houston's recent streak of road wins.
McGrady, though, responded. He cooly swished a 19-footer and follwed that by stuffing Desmond Mason on a drive. After setting up Yao for some free throws, McGrady canned a three-pointer 1:47 left that proved to be the dagger. That shot capped off a 9-0 run that pushed Houston ahead 87-74.
McGrady and Co. took care of the rest at the free throw line. The Rockets finished shooting 14-of-27 from the field, pacing the Rockets to a 50.7 percent shooting night.
"They came out double-teaming Yao so I knew I had to be aggressive," McGrady said. "I got myself going right away. I wasn't really making shots in the beginning. But I just wanted to be sure to assert myself on the offensive end and be aggressive."
McGrady's effort overshadowed the second matchup between Yao and Yi.
With Yao struggling to get touches against Milwaukee's swarming defense and Yi mired in a shooting slump, the two Chinese stars struggled. Yao managed to notch a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. But he took only 11 shot attempts. Yi, meanwhile, had only six points, struggling through a 1-of-10 shooting performance.
Still, the two stars understood the significance of the game for China.
"I know there are a lot of Chinese fans paying attention to this game, but it's just another regular-season game," Yi said. "I'm still happy to know there's a lot of Chinese fans watching this game and watching us."
Yao and Yi had plenty more watching them inside the Bradley Center.
Before the game, the arena was already swarming with Chinese media. Yao and Yi met at midcourt for a photo opportunity that drew nearly two dozen cameras and then had reporters following them throughout the building during pregame activities. Not much changed once the game actually started. For only the second time this season, the Bucks played in front of a sellout crowd at home. Most of the fans held up Yi posters or signs written in Chinese.
By the time it was all over, the two stars met again in a packed press conference.
"To be honest, I was beginning to feel a little nervous (on Friday night because of all the hoopla)," Yao said. "It feels like a playoff game or something."
McGrady was surprised by all the attention as well. But that didn't stop him from stealing the show. He hit plenty of big shots to sink the Bucks.
"Tracy has been doing that for a long time in his career," Rockets point guard Rafer Alston said.
