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Williams leads Utah to 133-110 victory
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Houston - The Rockets’ offense was rolling. Kevin Martin was unstoppable. The points were flowing free and easy, and every Houston possession seemed destined to end with a positive outcome.
The only problem? As good as the Rockets looked offensively, Utah was even better. As in, lights-out, unconscious, don’t touch them or you might get burned better. The Jazz hit on an astounding 17 of their first 20 shots in the first quarter and cooled off only slightly from there, eventually running away from the Rockets for a 133-110 victory.
Deron Williams, as he so often is for the Jazz, was the nearly flawless leading man of Utah’s offensive jam session, following up one of his worst shooting performances of the season (he shot just 4-of-16 the night before in Sacramento) with one of his best, pouring in 35 points to go along with 13 assists and 7 rebounds. In an ominous sign of what was to come, Williams went off for 20 points in the first quarter alone, hitting 8-of-9 from the field on his way to finishing a scorching 13-of-17 on the evening.
Meanwhile, Williams’ teammates simply followed his lead. Utah shot 67.5 percent from the field, set a season high for points scored in a game and, despite coming in ranked a mere 26th in the NBA in 3-pointers made per contest, drained 14 of their 25 shots from beyond the arc while taking advantage of a Rockets’ defense which has been all too generous of late.
“Just a very poor defensive effort,” lamented Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman. “We weren’t playing people. We knew exactly what they were going to do. We let Williams go around, they played pick and roll and he would go all the way to the basket. We just offered no resistance at all. We played pretty good for three quarters last night against San Antonio and just the opposite tonight. That is how we are we are: very, very inconsistent.”
Certainly not helping matters Saturday night was the fact Houston played the second game of a back-to-back quite shorthanded, missing three of the team’s best defenders: Trevor Ariza (hip), Kyle Lowry (ankle) and Shane Battier, who was unable to suit up due to flu-like symptoms.
In fact, given the Rockets necessary reliance on rookies and newcomers, it was a tribute to Houston’s own offensive prowess that they were able to keep such a red-hot Utah team relatively within reach for as long as they did. The Rockets posted 35-point quarters in both the first and second periods and boasted exemplary shooting percentages from the field, 3-point line and charity stripe through the first three quarters of play.
Leading the charge was Martin, who looks to be growing increasingly comfortable in a Rockets uniform with every game. Building off his 33-point performance form the night before, the 6th year guard showed off his entire arsenal Saturday night, knocking in spot-up jumpers, draining midrange shots while curling off screens, scoring on sublime cuts to the basket and, of course, by initiating a one-man parade to the free throw line, where he hit 12 of his 13 attempts. In all, Martin tallied 32 points in just 34 minutes of play – doing so while taking a mere 13 shots from the field.
“It’s getting better,” said the Western Carolina product. “Every day’s going to be better than the last one. So, you know, the longer I’m here, the more comfortable I’ll be, and there’s going to be a lot of great things in the future for Houston.”
QUOTES
Rick Adelman
On the game
“Just a very poor defensive effort. I think they just took it to us. We weren’t mentally tough enough to guard their cuts. Deron Williams really got them going, he was making a lot of shots. He made every shot he took it seemed like. They got it going. It reminded me of us against Milwaukee when we had that one game. You’ve got to have the attitude that you have to play your guy better and we didn’t do it.
It just wasn’t one guy, it was everybody. We gave pretty easy looks and once they got rolling it was an easy game for them.”
On what led to open shots
“We weren’t playing people. We knew exactly what they were going to do. We weren’t playing them. We let Williams go around, they played pick and roll and he would go all the way to the basket. We just offered no resistance at all. We played pretty good for three quarters last night against San Antonio and just the opposite tonight. That is how we are we are: very, very inconsistent.”
Aaron Brooks – Guard [19 points, 5 assists]
On the game
“Coming off the pick and roll they were doing a good job of creating. Once we would hedge or help a little bit they would kick it back and their ball rotation was good today. They were shooting a lot of shots.
On effects of playing back to back games
“No they played good basketball. I don’t think that had anything to do with it. Sometimes they had wide-open shots and every time they had an opportunity to hit a shot they did. The interior passing was great today. Coming off a loss against Sacramento you could feel the sense of urgency. They play with a lot of energy and Deron Williams came out there and played great.”
Kevin Martin – Guard [32 points, 3 assists]
On Deron Williams’ play
“Yes, I said something to him, because he came out really looking to attack. I was like, ‘you’re feeling it tonight, huh,’ and he was like, ‘you know, I just had a bad game last night,’ and great players in this league, that’s what they do. Have a bad game the night before, and they come out looking aggressive. And he was hitting tough shots, and that’s why he’s an All-Star.”
On adjusting to his team
“It’s getting better. Every day’s going to be better than the last one. So, you know, the longer I’m here, the more comfortable I’ll be, and there’s going to be a lot of great things in the future for Houston.”
Jerry Sloan – Head Coach (38-21 this season)
On Deron Williams’ 20 points in the first quarter giving them a good start
“Well we got up and down the floor. I didn’t know if he was going to keep that pace or not. We had 70 points at halftime, and that’s knowing how they play – they push the ball a great deal too. I thought we came out really strong. Boozer had a great start in the third quarter again, and he had some nice shots and really put a lot of pressure on them.”
On the team playing well together
“For the most part—we got a little selfish, I think, a couple times there at the end where we just kind of shot it—but bottom line was, we did move the ball pretty well. I thought we played fairly decent defense for the most part, except in their set offense a couple times, we got back and got burned with that. I was just happy to win, after last night’s game. Anything would have worked.”
Carlos Boozer – Forward (18 points 8 rebounds)
On the game
“Tonight we came out with a great effort. We scored a lot of points and played great great, great defense, and rebounded. It was fun. We let one slip away (Sacramento game last night). That happens in the NBA. It was nice to bounce back. The thing is that you can’t sulk about it and we didn’t. Tonight, guys came with regular energy and great focus and we look forward to
Monday.”
On Deron Williams
“Last night he didn’t play his best game. Tonight he came back strong and started cooking. They didn’t have a guy that could stay in front of him. He just kept taking it to them. When he can get by you, he’s dangerous.”
Paul Millsap – Center [18 points, 4 rebounds)
On getting a win after the loss last night
“We came back home with a chip on our shoulder. We had to get a win. We lost one last night that we should’ve had, and so we just wanted to come in tonight and just take it to them.”
On “righting the ship”
“Absolutely. It feels real good to win.”
Deron Williams – Guard (35 points, 13 Assists, 7 Rebounds)
On the game
“(Last night’s game) was a lot of motivation. I wasn’t really happy with how I played (last night). I feel like if I had had a decent effort we would have had a chance to win. On both ends of the floor I didn’t play too well. I had to come and set the tone tonight.”
On his fast start
“I’ve been a little passive to start games and it kind of hurts me because it takes a little while to get into a groove. So I decided not to pass up those ten-foot jumpers, which are my best shot.
I was feeling good in that first half. In the second (half), I was able to come out and get everybody else involved. Guys started hitting shots and it was kind of contagious.”
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