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Brooks provides lift off bench as Rockets beat Knicks
Houston 103, New York 91
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- During his season away from coaching, Rick Adelman spent several nights watching then-Oregon star Aaron Brooks torment the Pac-10.
"I watched him all last year in college when I was in Portland," Adelman said. "He had his biggest games against the best teams."
Now, the coach is witnessing Brooks' emergence on the pro level.
The rookie scored a career-high 22 points and drilled four three-pointers, giving the Rockets a huge lift off the bench in a 103-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Toyota Center.
The Rockets (17-17) picked up back-to-back wins to improve to .500 and boosted their record to 4-3 without injured star Tracy McGrady.
Yao Ming carried the Rockets through the first three quarters before finishing with 30 points and eight rebounds. But it was Houston's smallest player who ended up stealing the show.
Blending his quickness and accurate shooting touch, Brooks canned 8-of-11 shots. He did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 points in the period to thwart New York's hopes of a late comeback.
"Coach has been instilling a lot of confidence in me by having me in at the end of the game," said Brooks, who has been on the floor to finish the past two Rockets games. "I was kind of worried at first, but I shook the jitters off because it's just basketball. I'm responding well."
During the first two months of the season, Brooks mostly watched the action unfold from the bench. He had been on the inactive list for 20 games and actually spent a week in the NBA Developmental League.
Adelman, though, turned to the Rockets' first-round draft pick about two weeks ago in hopes that the speedy point guard could help pick up the tempo and get Houston some easier baskets in transition.
Right now, it doesn't look like Brooks will be going back to the D-League anytime soon.
"He is an amazing player," Yao said. "Everyone knows he has very quick speed. He has good skills and very strong confidence. I don't know where his confidence comes from, but everyone knew that one day, he would play like today. You didn't know which day, but one day."
The Rockets finished the first quarter with a 30-16 advantage before stretching their lead to 20 points in the second quarter.
The Knicks, however, didn't go away. With Nate Robinson getting hot from the field and Zach Randolph having a career night on the glass, New York had shrunk Houston's once huge lead to 79-72 with 10:50 still left to play. Robinson netted five three-pointers to finish with 25 points and Randolph added 18 points and a career-high 22 rebounds.
That's when Brooks took control.
He canned a three-pointer and set up Yao for a short jumper that pushed Houston's lead back to double digits. Following a steal by Bonzi Wells, Brooks tracked down a loose ball and took it to the other end for a score that boosted Houston to an 86-74 advantage.
The Knicks never seriously threatened again.
"I pretty much took over the point guard duties to take a little pressure off of him," Rockets point guard Rafer Alston said. "To me, he's a better scorer than I am because in college he had to score the ball a lot. So I had to try to push him over the shooting guard spot so he could come off in attack mode. I tried to run the show and control the team and not put any pressure on him down the stretch."
Brooks capped off his big night by sinking a three-pointer with 34.6 seconds remaining. After hitting that shot, the rookie received a final applause from the home crowd. But to those who witnessed Brooks play in college -- and even before that -- the performance was hardly a surprise.
"I played against Aaron all the time," said Robinson, a former University of Washington star who has played against Brooks since their childhood days. "I have been seeing that kid since he was 8 years old. I have always known he can play the game. It is fun watching his career grow. He did a great job tonight. It's good to see guys from Seattle do well. It puts a smile on my face."
