Rockets Cruise Past Utah 108-99

Rafer and Wafer combine to carry Houston to 6th win in 7 games

Von Wafer did it again Wednesday night, scoring 21 points in helping Houston knock off Utah 108-99.

 

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Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PLAYER OF THE GAME INTERVIEW WITH BRENT BARRY - AND CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE ROCKETS POSTGAME HIGHLIGHT SHOW.

Houston - Cinderella, thy name is Von Wafer.

Mr. 2009 continued his magical run through the new year Wednesday night, this time scoring 16 first half points and knocking down a pivotal three-pointer late in the fourth quarter to lift Houston to a 108-99 victory over its archrivals from Utah.

The win was Houston’s third in a row and 6th in seven games, an especially impressive run given the fact Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest have been on the sideline nursing injuries for the vast majority of that stretch. And perhaps no one has stepped up his game in their absence more than Wafer, the career journeyman who has burst onto the scene ever since the calendar flipped, averaging nearly 17 points per game in the new year.

“We know that he can score the ball, but he is surprising us with his consistency,” said Rafer Alston, who was terrific in his own right Wednesday night, scoring a team-high 23 points to go along with 8 assists. “You’ve got to know that in his career before he got here, he hadn't been a rotation guy or a guy that had been in the lineup playing major minutes. But he's been terrific for us. You can’t say enough about what he has done.”

Wafer’s stellar play will soon present Coach Rick Adelman with the kind of problem any coach would love to have: Too much talent and too few minutes to go around. And it’s a dilemma which figures to be all the more welcome to Adelman given the rash of injuries the Rockets have endured this season and the often shorthanded roster with which he's had to work as a result.

But soon, McGrady and Artest will return. T-Mac is expected to play in either Detroit or New York on Houston’s upcoming road trip, while Artest received good news from his latest bone scan and looked great on the court working out before the Utah game. The Rockets clearly need both players if the team is to approach the lofty expectations it held before the season began, but it’s just as important for that duo to re-integrate themselves in a way which complements the delicate chemistry and cohesion the club formed during their absence.

“Now it’s on those guys to get to our level,” said Shane Battier after the game. “We’ve played well. And even though they’re great players, they’ve got to come to the level of our team right now, and that’s a good kind of pressure to put on your best players.

“The way we’re moving the ball around, we can’t afford to go back to our old offense of sit-and-watch, and isolation. It’s just not as good. We’re much better when we move the ball and play like this.”

Yao Ming, who has also been exceptional of late, says it’s only natural to expect a period of transition when McGrady and Artest return.

“We need to have some communication. Obviously when they come back, maybe we’ll have [an adjustment period]. Like two years ago when I broke my knee and came back to play while the team was playing well, I wasn’t really fitting in then. I was feeling a little slow and sometimes ran to the wrong place. I wasn’t just out of shape. It will be the same thing [for them].”

The Rockets can’t afford much of a speed bump, however. The Western Conference playoff picture once again resembles a mosh pit, with teams packed together so tightly that there’s very little separating seeds two through nine. All it takes is one mini-slump to go from middle of the pack to outside looking in, so it would certainly behoove Houston to keep this positive momentum rolling for as long as it can.

“The Western Conference, the way it is stacked up and how good these teams are, it really is feast or famine,” said Brent Barry, who scored all 9 of his points in the second quarter Wednesday night (all on three-pointers) “And to have Ron and Tracy down for an extended period of time and think that we could really start to play our best basketball of the season, I don't think there were a lot of people who thought that would happen. You are looking at a locker room full of ten guys right now who are playing well, and we are doing a really good job and really appreciate the support of our crowd. We've really done some good things and grown up during these last six or seven ball games.”

How the Rockets continue to grow and mature as a group will go a long way in defining their season. And perhaps no stretch will be as vital to that growth as the one facing them right now. Continuity issues aside, the Rockets are the rare team blessed with the opportunity to add two legitimate stars to a roster already playing its best basketball of the season. Then take into account the fact that next month’s schedule looks very inviting with plenty of off days and a slew of home dates.

Are the stars aligning for the Rockets to make another February run? If nothing else, the next few weeks promise to be fascinating. And so, too, will be one of the most surprising subplots of this season: With his role about to change, will Von Wafer continue to flourish, or will the clock strike midnight on his Cinderella story?

QUOTES

ROCKETS COACH RICK ADELMAN

(On the win) “Obviously, I'm really happy with the win and with the way we finished the home stand. It was three straight games where we played well. They are a tough team and our guys hung in there and we ran these three off and now we are on the road.”

(On the late 3 pointer by Von Wafer) “We were posting Yao up and he just swung it, we swung it and Von was open in the corner. So we knew they couldn't guard him one on one and they were going to have to do something and someone was going to be open.”

(On the play of Rafer Alston) “He really played well tonight. I thought he made some really good decisions with the ball, shot it well, made some good decisions in pick and rolls to Luis. He had a tough cover, he had to cover Williams (Deron) who was real aggressive, but I thought he played very well.”

(on the offense the last two weeks): We played really well offensively, I thought. They had some turnovers again in certain stages, but other than that I think we are figuring out how to play. We have a nice balance going to Yao, and pick-and-rolls and ball movement. We had some good open looks that we missed tonight, but I think this team has made some pretty good strides in the last two weeks.

VON WAFER

(On his confidence going onto the road) “We have to get these games on the road. I'm trying to take that momentum to Indiana. It's going to be a hostile environment and we're going to try to come out with a win.”

(On what the team has learned from the last 7 games) “I think that we learned with a little effort and togetherness, we can win. We can just play together and just stay together then we can win.”

(on his play): I just try to play hard and try not to get in the way too much.

(on his big three): All my shots felt the same. I don’t really look at the defender when I’m shooting, I look at the rim. So I could see him coming, but I wasn’t paying attention to him. I was just in rhythm and it went in.

RAFER ALSTON

(On the play of Von Wafer) and tonight he was doing something different with them. He was making them run the floor even when he didn't have the ball.”

(On the history of keeping the lead against the Jazz) “We talked about that over half time. We were up by 17 (points) or so. We said that they were going to keep fighting and they did not quit. So, when you are playing with a lead and with cushion, you still have the advantage. Sooner or later when you battle back down 16 or 17 points, it takes a lot of energy and effort. So you have to tip your hat to them for clawing back but the lead was a wide margin and we continued to play with that margin.”

YAO MING

(On the play of Von Wafer) “I think he brings a lot of energy and we've gotten great help from him on the offensive side. He cuts to the basket and makes open threes. He's making his own place right now in this league.”

(On the key to the Rockets improved play) “Attitude, mindset.”

(On the Jazz) “With Utah you really have to give them credit. They are a very strong team and they are very disciplined. They have been missing two of their main guys, Carlos Boozer and A.K. (Kirilenko). The playoffs are going to be another story. The game is different and the speed is different. The contact is more physical.”

(on integrating T-Mac and Artest):

When I was out those ten weeks, we made a lot of runs. And I watched those games on TV and told myself, ‘That’s the way you want to play.’ It’s much easier and fun to play like that.

LUIS SCOLA

(On the win) “It was a huge win. We needed it and we went and got it. We played pretty good to start it off and we were able to hang in there. I think we played smart the whole game. We mixed it up. We went into Yao and we played our system and we had good ball movement. We had better offense overall.”

JAZZ COACH JERRY SLOAN

(on the game) “It’s tough when you play the way Houston did in the first quarter. They made their free throws (27 0f 28) and we missed 9. We didn’t have the energy we needed on the floor. We didn’t play any defense to start the game. Millsap got two quick fouls and that hurt us and took us away from what we wanted to do. I was still disappointed with the way we ran the floor and we didn’t put any pressure on Houston.”

(on defending Yao) “ Houston surrounds Yao with a lot of players that can shoot from outside. It takes a lot of energy to try and guard Yao. We don’t have a lot of guys that can play Yao.”

(on Von Wafer’s play) “I don’t think our guys knew who he was to start the game. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. He is a high energy guy and he believes he can score the basketball.”

DERON WILLIAMS

(on the game ) “It was a tough game. We got down early and it put us in a tough predicament and we couldn’t recover from it. I thought we came out slow and sluggish and it cost us the ball game. In the second half we got some stops but it’s tough to come back against a good team on the road. I thought our energy was better in the second half. We just didn’t make plays and stops down the stretch.”

PAUL MILLSAP

(on defending Yao) “It really wears you down having to guard him all game. You pay for it on the offensive end of the court.”

(on the game) “We got a lot of help from our guard play but we didn’t seem to have the energy we needed. Houston shot a very good percentage and they hit their free throws and we paid for it.”

MEHMET OKUR

(on the game) “They didn’t miss their free throws and made their shots when they needed in the second half. We didn’t execute at the offensive end and it was a tough loss. We didn’t close out the game. Houston really shared the ball well. In the second half we doubled Yao and they made a lot of tough shots. Their free throws killed us.”

NOTES

The Rockets completed their five-game homestand with a 4-1 record following a 108-99 victory tonight over the Jazz. Houston now owns a 2-0 advantage over the Jazz this season, but play the final two games of this series in Utah .

Houston has started strong in each contest of its current five-game home stand. Overall, the Rockets have combined to make 61-of-111 (.550) first-quarter field goals for an average of 28.8 points over the last five opening quarters.

The Rockets never trailed in tonight’s game, building its lead to as high as 16 points. The last time Houston has led wire-to-wire over Utah was in a 100-86 win back on Jan. 5, 2007.

Houston made a season-best .964 (27-28 FT) from the free throw line tonight. Overall, the Rockets have reached .900 or better at the stripe six times this season. Houston hit .900 or better from the charity stripe only five times all of last season.

The Rockets made 11-of-24 (.458) from downtown tonight, marking the 10th time this season Houston has made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game.

The Jazz outscored the Rockets in the paint by a 58-38 margin tonight, giving Houston ’s opponents 50 or more points in the paint in three of the last four games.

Rafer Alston led the Rockets with a season-high 23 points (7-13 FG, 4-4 FT), eight assists and two steals. He now has four 20-point outings this season, including 22 points (9-17 FG, 2-6 3FG) vs. Miami (1/17/09). Alston has also made five or more 3-pointers in a game 16 times in his career, which includes 13 occasions with the Rockets after tonight’s 5-of-7 performance.

Von Wafer added 21 points (8-15 FG, 3-5 3FG, 2-2 FT) tonight, giving him an average of 18.8 points (.500, 38-76 FG) over this five-game homestand.

Yao Ming finished with 19 points (5-8 FG, 9-9 FT) and 12 rebounds. Yao now owns 22 of Houston ’s 42 total double-doubles in 2008-09.

Brent Barry matched his season high in 3-pointers made with a 3-of-4 outing for nine points tonight. Since returning from a right calf injury at New Jersey (12/22/08), Barry has connected on 22-of-43 (.512) from beyond the arc over his last 15 games Deron Williams had 32 points (10-17 FG, 10-12 FT) and 11 assists tonight. Williams has now dished out at least five assists in each of his last 30 games, which is an active streak that leads the NBA (next closest: 13 games by Chris Paul through 1/20/09). Including tonight, Williams also owns six regular season double-digit assist performances against the Rockets dating back to 2006-07.

Ronnie Brewer chipped in with another 23 points (9-14 FG, 3-3 3FG) tonight. Brewer also scored a team-high 23 points in the last meeting at Houston (12/27/08).

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