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Rockets can't solve Mavs, find offensive rhythm
Dallas 96, Houston 83
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- The Rockets didn't have to worry about blowing another fourth quarter lead against the Dallas Mavericks.
After all, they never had one.
Behind the usual cast of characters, the Mavericks continued their mastery over the Rockets Saturday night with a 96-83 victory in front of a packed house of 18,307 fans at Toyota Center.
Josh Howard scored 23 points and Dirk Nowitzki chipped in with 20 points as the Mavs ran their winning streak over Houston to six games. Dallas has also won 10 of its past 11 games -- including three wins this season -- over their Southwest Division rivals.
Less than a month after rallying from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Rockets in Houston, the Mavs didn't need any theatrics to pull off their latest victory in the Bayou City.
The Mavs coasted by the Rockets with a 26-9 spurt over the third and fourth quarter that ended Houston's chances.
"They're a team that's been in the Finals and played at the highest level," Rockets star Tracy McGrady said of the Mavericks. "They know what it takes to turn it up another notch. That's what they did in the third quarter. We didn't match that. It seems like we're not ready to take that next step and be mentioned in the same breath as Dallas. That's what it seems like."
The Rockets (12-12) didn't do themselves any favors on the offensive end.
Despite having little trouble establishing Yao Ming inside, the Rockets shot 40.8 percent from the floor and had 19 turnovers. Yao canned 10 of 18 shots to finish with a game-high 28 points, but the rest of the lineup shot a meager 36.2 percent from the field. McGrady, who had 12 points while playing with a bruised left knee, made only 5 of 18 shots.
During Dallas' second-half burst, the Rockets were particularly cold. After Steve Francis buried a three-pointer to give the Rockets a 51-49 advantage with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter, Houston missed nine of its next 12 shots and had five turnovers over an 10-minute stretch.
By the time Houston finally snapped out of the shooting funk, the Mavs had a comfortable 77-62 lead in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets, unfortunately, have seen a lot of those stretchs this season.
"It seems like I say this all the time, but we couldn't make a shot," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "We missed lay-ups and the only one who was consistent all night long was Yao. He was very aggressive, they tried to take the ball out of his hands and he continued to play hard.
"But we just have to find a way to get more people involved and I don't know how we're going to be successful if we can't do that," Adelman added. "It's been a complete struggle all year long. Once the turnovers start going, we start to force things and that's never going to work."
It didn't help that the Rockets were playing without their starting point guard.
Francis made his third start of the season at point guard after Rafer Alston was scratched from the lineup with a groin injury. Francis made 1-of-8 shots from the field in 23 minutes, finishing with only three points.
The veteran guard, though, was more irked by
his five turnovers.
"Yeah, it was really tough," said Francis, who was making his first start in Houston since returning to the Rockets. "For me, it was really embarrassing coming back playing and having five turnovers. The timing for myself wasn't very good and it kind of snowballs when your point guard turns the ball over. That's really going to hurt your team."
The Mavs had little trouble finding their own flow.
By knocking down 50.7 percent of their shots and sinking 94.4 percent of their attempts from the free-throw line, Dallas became the first team this season to shoot at least 50 percent from the field and 90 percent from the charity stripe against the Rockets. The Mavs also had five players reach double figures.
That was enough for Dallas to maintain its recent dominance over the Rockets.
"They are a good team and bring out the best in us," Nowitzki said. "It is a fun match-up."
