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Sunday March 8, 2009 10:59 PM

Rockets Cruise Past Memphis 93-83

Dominant defensive effort keys Houston's 12th straight home win

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - The Rockets knew nothing short of time travel could completely erase the sting of twice losing to the lowly Grizzlies this season. So in lieu of taking a trip in the Wayback Machine, Houston did the next best thing, pounding Memphis into submission Sunday night at Toyota Center.

Led by the frontcourt tandem of Yao Ming and Luis Scola, the Rockets ran out to a 25-point lead before coasting to a comfortable 93-83 victory. Yao and Scola were the driving forces behind the Rockets’ all-out assault on the backboards as the duo combined for a whopping 31 rebounds, paving the way for Houston’s 50-36 advantage on the glass.

Meanwhile, the Rockets’ defense was at its suffocating best as well, limiting Memphis to an anemic 38.1 percent shooting from the field. Houston set the tone early on that end of the floor, collecting all 9 of its blocks in the opening 24 minutes, while limiting the Grizzlies to just 37 first-half points.

“We just wanted to send a message both to our opponent and also to ourselves that we need to play strong,” said Yao, who finished with game-highs in both points (24) and rebounds (17). “We cannot play like we played the last two times against them in their house. We wanted to set a tone for the game.”

Offensively, Yao had his way with the Grizzlies too, which had not always been the case during the clubs’ previous three meetings. Memphis bigs Marc Gasol and Darko Milicic were surprisingly effective defending Yao earlier this season, so Houston’s All-Star center took a different approach which clearly paid dividends.

“Darko makes me feel a little bit different because he’s left-handed and he uses his left hand as well as I use my right,” explained Yao. “So when you have a guy like that sub in you have to change your mind at times, and that’s really bothered me the last two games. Yesterday at shootaround we focused on that in the walk-through and I think that really helped me today.”

Typically, Sunday evening affairs against a cellar-dweller like the Grizzlies serve as the perfect setting for an unsuspecting club caught looking ahead. But given the recent history between these two, the Rockets made sure they were ready, knowing full well this was a game they had to have; especially considering the brutal schedule awaiting them the rest of the way.

“The saving grace of tonight is that they had beaten us two out of three games,” said Shane Battier, who helped limit Rookie of the Year candidate O.J. Mayo to 10 points on 4-13 shooting. “We didn’t want to lose the season series to the last place team in our division. If we would have swept them the three times we played them earlier, then I would have been a lot more worried about this game. But we came out with great focus and we know that every game is so important now.

“We can’t afford any more tough losses. We’ve had our fair share of tough losses to teams that we probably should have beaten but didn’t give the proper effort to win. With 18 games left, every game is so magnified. Games like tonight, we have to come out with a workmanlike effort and just win.”

And 1’s: Former Grizzlies’ guard Kyle Lowry enjoyed a fine game against his old teammates, totaling 8 points and a game-high 9 assists off the bench for Houston. “It's kind of weird out there playing against those guys but it was definitely fun,” said Lowry after the game. “It was huge in the locker room. Guys remembered the two losses we had in Memphis and guys remembered that and we wanted to make sure that we didn't get that third loss and make sure that we came out tonight and got the win.”

Asked what had changed since those two games, Lowry didn't bite on the obvious opening for a little back-tapping. Instead, he simply smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know.”

QUOTES

RICK ADELMAN

(On the game) I was pleased with the way the guys played, except for the last five minutes. We've got to finish the game out but for the most part we came out and played a solid game. Yao (Ming) and Luis (Scola) really controlled the boards for us and it was a good win.”

(On getting off to a good start against Memphis) “We talked about it. We knew they played last night. We knew that in the games that they have won they've gotten off to good starts in almost all of them; they certainly did against us in Memphis, so we talked about getting off to a good start and keep getting the first spurt in each quarter.”

(On the previous losses to Memphis) “We talked about it yesterday when we had our walk-through ; we talked about how they beat us twice, and they beat us pretty good both games. So, where we are right now you can't afford a game like that at home where you slip up. We talked about how this is the first one this week. You go to Denver tomorrow then you have the Lakers and then at Charlotte who's been playing very well, and then we have San Antonio to finish it off. So, this was an important game for us, we needed to get this win to start the week.”

(on the defense): I thought we were really active, we had some good possessions and we controlled the boards. We didn’t allow us to bang us on the boards like they had in the past. I thought we did a good job of playing their game pretty good.

RON ARTEST

(On the win) “The game early was close and in the first six minutes it could have easily been close throughout the entire game is we would have started to force shots and press a little bit. But we stayed focused and we stayed solid. We stuck to our game plan. It was a good win for us.”

(On the key to his 3 point shooting) “Just practice. I've been meeting with Coach Brett (Gunning) and I've been shooting around a lot. Ever since I've been working with Chuck Person four or five years ago, my shots really been falling a lot. I have to give him credit for helping me.”

(on the defensive effort): Our defense as a unit was more impressive than any individual player on the team.

YAO MING

(On the Rockets 9 blocked shots tonight) “We just wanted to send a message both to our opponent and also to ourselves that we need to play strong. We cannot play like we played the last two times against them in their house. We wanted to set a tone for the game.”

(On the Rockets success at Toyota Center) “Our defense was a lot better today and when you play at home, you always feel stronger. The crowd gives you a lot of energy and that helps with your success.”

(on changing up his strategy against Gasol and Darko): First of all, their defense is never one-on-one. I think today Gasol played good, but Darko makes me feel a little bit different because he’s left-handed and he uses his left hand as well as I use my right. So when you have a guy like that sub in you have to change your mind at times, and that’s really bothered me the last two games. Yesterday at shootaround we focused on that in the walk-through and I think that really helped me today.

LUIS SCOLA

(On the Rockets starting intensity) “I think that's the way we need to approach this type of game. We know it's a very important game for us and we knew that if we got off to a good start then that would be important.”

(On the Rockets rebounding) “We remembered those two games that they beat us (in Memphis). We talked about that a lot and we knew we needed to be focused because they've already beaten us twice. That's one of the things that we really took care of tonight.”

I think Yao played an unbelievable game. I was telling him in the second half that he needed three more rebounds for a 20-20. And he said, ‘I’ve already made a 20-20, you Sophomore.’ True story (laughs).

SHANE BATTIER

We can’t afford any more tough losses. We’ve had our fair share of tough losses to teams that we probably should have beaten but didn’t give the proper effort to win. With 18 games left, every game is so magnified. Games like tonight, we have to come out with a workmanlike effort and just win.

The saving grace of tonight is that they had beaten us two out of three games. We didn’t want to lose the season series to the last place team in our division. If we would have swept them the three times we played them earlier, then I would have been a lot more worried about this game. But we came out with great focus and we know that every game is so important now.

VON WAFER

(On the rebounding of the game) “We did a great job. We kind of smothered them. They beat us twice and we didn't want that to happen, so we smothered them and we got the job done.”

(On the importance of the 12th straight home win) “It's a big win. You can't have any let downs because we are going to go into some battles with some teams that we can potentially face in the playoffs. Positioning is very, very important right now. You can't lost a game like that to a team that is not in the playoff contention.”

KYLE LOWRY

(On playing against his former team) “It's kind of weird out there playing against those guys but it was definitely fun.”

(On the previous Memphis games) “It was huge in the locker room. Guys remembered the two losses we had in Memphis and guys remembered that and we wanted to make sure that we didn't get that third loss and make sure that we came out tonight and got the win.”

GRIZZLIES COACH LIONEL HOLLINS

(on the game) “We started sluggish in the first half but we stayed within striking distance. In the second half we just couldn’t make our shots.”

(on his team’s play) “Coming off the game last night we had to play a lot of minutes and it hindered our stamina. When you’re tired you lose patience and you settle for quick shots and that really hurt us.”

(on the Rockets without McGrady) “They are the same Houston Rockets without him. They are pushing the ball more and they keep pounding it inside. They are playing better with Tracy out and Brooks in the starting line-up.”

RUDY GAY

(on the low shooting percentage) “They force us into it. You have to give them a lot of respect because they force you out of your rhythm. Yao makes it real tough inside.”

(on the Rockets addition of Lowry) “Talking with Shane (Battier) and Ron (Artest) before the game, they love what Kyle adds to this team. If the teammates that you play alongside with have that kind of confidence, then the sky is the limit.”

MIKE CONLEY

(on the key to the game ) “It was a lack of mental toughness on our part. We let fatigue get to us. We were out of sync and that was out of character. We were trying to be aggressive but it’s tough when you get in foul trouble early.”

(on Lowry coming to the Rockets) “We were talking a little on the court but there was no trash taking. It is really good to see him here getting an opportunity. I’m happy for him and I am one of his biggest fans.”

MARC GASOL

(on the game) “Back to back games had a little to do with it. Those are excuses but you have to play through adversity. Houston was more prepared. Yao had a great night and he was hitting everything and that got into our heads.”

NOTES

The Rockets recorded a 93-83 win over the Grizzlies tonight en route to capturing the last 12 outings at Toyota Center (1/31/09-3/8/09), which now stands as the third-best home winning streak in team history (20 in 1985-86 and 15 in 2007-08).

Houston took a 50-36 (+14) edge off the glass tonight, giving the Rockets their 11th 50-rebound game of 2008-09. The Rockets have now outrebounded their opponent by a double-digit margin 15 times this season.

The Rockets bench outscored the Grizzlies reserves by 26-13 in tonight’s contest. The Grizzlies bench had accounted for an opponent season-best 58 bench points at Memphis (12/8/08) and outscored the Rockets reserves 32-16 in the second meeting at Memphis (2/4/09).

Houston registered all nine blocks in the first half tonight, which came up one shy of its overall season-high 10 blocks vs. Minnesota (2/7/09).

Yao Ming finished with 24 points (9-13 FG), 17 boards and three blocked shots tonight, which gave him 30 double-doubles in 2008-09. He has now posted four seasons of 30-plus double-doubles (33 in 2003-04, 34 in 2005-06 and 33 in 2007-08). Yao actually recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. It marked the third time this season and the 13th time in his career to post a double-double by halftime. Yao also had 10 points and 10 boards in the opening half at New Jersey (12/22/08) and recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds in the first half at Atlanta (1/3/09).

Luis Scola recorded 18 points (6-12 FG) and 14 rebounds tonight to give him 10 double-doubles since Feb. 9, which is now the third most in the NBA over that span.

Kyle Lowry had eight points (3-4 FG) and dished out a game-high nine assists tonight, which marked his best assist effort as a member of the Rockets. Lowry’s previous best was a seven-assist game vs. Cleveland (2/26/09).

Carl Landry set a new career high with all four of his blocked shots in the first half. His previous best was two blocks done four times this season (last on 3/3/09 vs. Toronto).

Ron Artest was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc for 13 points tonight. He has now made at least two 3-pointers in each of the last 13 games, which stands as the NBA’s longest active streak of consecutive games with multiple 3-pointers made.

Rudy Gay had a team-high 21 points (9-20 FG) tonight. Gay also led the Grizzlies with 20 points in the last meeting in Houston (10/29/08) and came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points at Memphis (12/8/08).

Mike Conley completed his night with 15 points (3-4 3FG) and seven assists. Conley actually made all three 3-pointers by the Grizzlies at Toyota Center this season. Memphis was 0-for-13 from beyond the arc in last meeting at Houston (10/29/08).

Darrell Arthur pulled down a team-high 12 boards tonight for his fourth double-digit rebounding effort this season. Arthur also posted 11 points and 15 rebounds in the prior game at Houston (10/29/08).

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