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Tuesday March 27, 2007 0:18 AM


Rockets clinch playoff spot with rout of Bucks


Houston 106, Milwaukee 87


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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Luther Head held a brief media interview session in front of his locker and calmly gathered his belongings before calling it a night.

He didn't have any grand plans to celebrate after helping the Rockets clinch a playoff spot.

"We've got to look at the bigger picture," Head said. "We're happy that we're in, but we want more."

Head wasn't the only one in the building Monday night thinking about what's ahead instead of what his team pulled off.

Behind a three-point scoring barrage and a defense that had little trouble slowing down Milwaukee's injury-riddled roster, the Rockets eased past the Bucks 106-87 and clinched a playoff spot in front of 14,287 fans at Toyota Center.

The Rockets (45-26) are heading back to the playoffs after missing last year's postseason because of injuries to Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. They remained 1 1/2 games behind the fourth-place Utah Jazz in the Western Conference and matched a season-best six-game winning streak at home.

The Rockets made it look easy on Monday night by shooting 47.7 percent and nailing 12 three-pointers.

But even though they had a double-digit cushion most of the night, the Rockets left Toyota Center fully understanding that they need to play even better once the playoffs begin.

"We're trying to fine tune," Rockets point guard Rafer Alston said. "We're trying to get our game ready, our defense ready, get our turnovers down and try to play more efficient on offense. We don't want to go into the playoffs searching for a rhythm and balance to our attack."

The Rockets were fairly balanced against the Bucks.

McGrady had 22 points and 10 assists to lead six players in double figures. Yao added 22 points and seven rebounds, but he wasn't thrilled with his own performance after the game.

"Six guys in double figures is good for us," Yao said. "It's good for us, but it's not enough. We still need to learn and I don't feel very good about this game. My pick and roll defense, my shooting field goals, my rebounding, I don't feel very good. I'm not in the playoff level yet."

The Bucks are headed to the NBA Draft lottery after losing Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva to season-ending surgeries. They showed up without another starter Monday night when starting point guard Mo Williams was scratched from the lineup with upper respiratory infection.

Without three starters to contend with, the Rockets focused their defensive efforts on trying to slow down leading scorer Michael Redd. Redd poured in 26 points, but Milwaukee's remaining starters were a combined 15 of 44.

"Defense is a key in the playoffs and Houston is an outstanding defensive team," Milwaukee coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "I believe Houston can do some damage in the playoffs."

The Rockets didn't have trouble doing damage to Miwaukee even if they weren't at their best.

McGrady carved up Milwaukee’s defense in the opening 12 minutes by canning four of his first five shots. He finished the first quarter with 12 points and five assists, pushing the Rockets to a 33-20 lead heading into the second quarter.

With McGrady taking a breather at the start of the second, the Bucks managed to regroup and hang around. Redd made all five of his shots in the period as the Milwaukee trimmed Houston’s lead to 53-45 at the break.

McGrady, however, ensured there wouldn’t be any drama in the second half.

Halfway through the third quarter in a 64-54 game, McGrady scopped up a steal after Alston tipped it away and found the point guard spotting up on the right arc for a three-pointer on the break. Alston drilled it, igniting quarter-ending 17-6 run.Milwaukee never flirted with cutting the advantage to single digits after that.

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy still left wanting more after the game.

"We're not playing real well these last couple of games, individually or collectively," Van Gundy said. "We're just not playing well."

They'll worry about fixing that over the next four weeks. After all, they're heading to the playoffs.

"We are still trying to improve," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "It's not just a matter of winning right now. It's a matter of gaining momentum and getting our execution down, which is what wins this time of year."