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Thursday April 2, 2009 5:49 AM

Suns Stave Off Rockets 114-109

Key fourth quarter stretch dooms Houston to defeat

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Phoenix - The fast-paced, fun and gun Phoenix Suns actually won with defense.

And though that may seem like just another far-fetched April Fool’s gag, it also happened to be true – much to the chagrin of the Houston Rockets.

Yes, the Suns did plenty of scoring, led by the inimitable Steve Nash and his 25 points and 17 assists. But it was Phoenix’s defensive intensity during a key 15-0 run in the fourth quarter which helped transform a 7-point deficit into an 8-point advantage, allowing the Suns to seize the momentum and keep Houston at bay for the remainder of the contest on their way to claiming a 114-109 victory.

The Rockets went scoreless for more than five and a half minutes during that pivotal period, prompting Shane Battier to praise a Phoenix defense which is typically considered more laughingstock than lock-down.

“They actually played some pretty good defense,” he conceded. “They’re not known for their defense but they turned it up at that point.

“This is a game of feet and the difference between Yao catching the ball 8 feet versus 10 feet (from the basket) is a huge difference. And when Shaq started to push him out a little bit, the percentages go down and we had a tough time getting Yao the ball. We just have to find ways to execute precisely under duress.”

Indeed, the Rockets’ offense certainly abandoned them at the worst possible time Wednesday night. After shooting 57.6% from the field through the first three quarters of play, Houston hit just 33.3% of its shots in the final frame. Foul trouble to Yao Ming and Luis Scola certainly didn’t help the cause, as Houston clearly lost some of its offensive rhythm in their absence. And the aforementioned Phoenix ‘D’ did its part, too. But after the game, Yao was much more concerned with his club’s inability to execute with the game on the line.

“When we are not executing the play, we start playing individually,” said Yao, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds. “It’s just one-on-one or maybe pick-and-roll and the rest of the three guys on the weakside don’t know where we’re going. We were not organized well offensively and that will cause a lot of problems (if it’s not fixed) in the playoffs.”

While their struggles on offense proved to be the fatal blow late in the game, it was actually the Rockets’ defense which was under the gun the entire first half. Phoenix shot a scorching 80% from the field in the first quarter and had 67 points racked up by halftime – quite a turnaround from the last time Houston paid a visit to the US Airways Center; that night the Suns scored just 82 points total.

“We did everything we talked about not doing,” said Coach Rick Adelman of his club’s defensive effort in the first half. “We allowed them to run the court. If they missed they got the offensive boards back. They had thirty-something points in the paint. It was all the things we talked about that you can’t allow them to do. That’s the first time that we did not come out and, at some time in the half, make a stand defensively. We just kind of let them dictate whatever they wanted, and that hurt us.”

Added Battier: “We had a lack of energy and commitment to stopping the basketball. They’re probably the best offensive team in the league, so they can make you look really bad. But the things that we could have controlled, like transition defense and defensive rebounding - which are usually our strengths - were our weaknesses and it just proved to be too much tonight.”

Houston’s loss means the Rockets remain stuck in the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoff race, a half game behind division rival San Antonio. But with another big road test looming – Houston pays a visit to the mighty Los Angeles Lakers Friday night - the Rockets know they have to move on and learn from this defeat as quickly as possible.

“The good news is we have another practice [Thursday] and we can work on all that,” said Yao. “But we have to put our heart in there and listen and do. Just like people say tomorrow is a new day, we need to stop thinking about it and start doing it.”

QUOTES

Rick Adelman

“I am just disappointed the way we played the fourth quarter - the first half actually. We didn’t guard them the first half, we pretty much let them do what they wanted. In the second half, we defended them better and picked it up but in the fourth quarter we shot ourselves in the foot offensively. We really got out of sync and let them make that run.

(had to break up the lineup a bit in the fourth – did that make it tough offensively?): It was. Luis got his fourth foul, then Yao got his fourth foul – I probably could have done something different there as far as the lineup on the floor where we could have made sure we got better shots. It is hard, but I didn’t think we did a good job when we brought Yao back. We did not do a good job of getting him the ball and understanding that that’s where the ball’s got to go to stop their run. We continued to take tough shots and we have to find a way to get better in that area.

(how much does it hurt to have Carl missing?): Yeah, if we have Carl, it would be totally different. But we have to play through that. We have to find a way. I just thought we did too much one on one, we didn’t move the ball, we didn’t attack them and it really hurt us.

(On first half): It was us. We did everything we talked about not doing. We allowed them to run the court. If they missed they got the offensive boards back. They had thirty-something points in the paint. It was all the things we talked about that you can’t allow them to do. They only took four threes in the first half and only made two. It was all about us. I thought they played with a lot more urgency. That’s the first time that we did not come out and, at some time in the half, make a stand defensively. We just kind of let them dictate whatever they wanted, and that hurt us.”

Yao Ming

“I think the last six minutes we didn’t execute well. Obviously we know they are a transition team but we still gave them too many fast break points in the first half and late in the game. Nash’s pick and rolls with Shaq were really hard to guard.

(On battle with Shaq) It’s always physical. It’s always fun to play against him. I always learn new things from him. He is a great player…ah, I waste my time. Everyone knows who he is. I hear about his retirement schedule so I don’t think there’s much time for me to play against him. That will be a good memory for me thirty or forty years from now.”

We had a couple turnovers that lead to them getting too many opportunities to get fastbreak points. You can say that is we’re not executing well. Coach called the play and we didn’t do it.

When we are not executing the play, we start playing individually – just one-on-one or maybe pick-and-roll and the rest of the three guys on the weakside don’t know where we’re going. We were not organized well offensively and that will cause a lot of problems in the playoffs.

The good news is we have another practice tomorrow and we can work on that. But we have to put our heart in there and listen and do. Just like people say tomorrow is a new day, we need to start thinking about it and start doing it.

Ron Artest

“I think they just won tonight. They played good. Nash was hitting his shots and they played great. You’ve got to give them credit for the win. Give them credit for hanging in there with all those challenges and so much adversity, with Amar’e being out. They’re still hanging in there so you have to give them a lot of credit.

(On Suns 4th quarter run) They picked up their defense. I don’t think we played smart the whole game. Sometimes playing smart means giving effort and understanding what it takes to win. Overall, Nash made shots when he had to. He made some good passes. Shaq was real mobile today, so give them credit.”

Shane Battier

They actually played some pretty good defense. They’re not known for their defense but they turned it up at that point. And we just couldn’t make anything and I don’t know the reason for that. We just have to find ways to score points against good teams in the fourth quarter.

I think they just turned the pressure up. This is a game of feet and the difference between Yao catching the ball 8 feet versus 10 feet (from the basket) is a huge difference. And when Shaq started to push him out a little bit, the percentages go down and we had a tough time getting Yao the ball. So again, we have to find ways to execute precisely under duress.

When you’re on the road it’s different. Most of our collapses have been at home. But it was different. I think we were just outplayed. Phoenix got us in a deficit in the first half, we caught up, took the lead and looked like we had things under control, but sort of got away from what got us the lead, and they just played a superior fourth quarter.

(on the first half): We had a lack of energy and commitment to stopping the basketball. They’re probably the best offensive team in the league, so they can make you look really bad. But the things that we could have controlled, like transition defense and defensive rebounding which are usually our strengths, were our weaknesses and it just proved to be too much tonight.

Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry:

(Opening Statement)

“We’re 1-0 to start the season. It’s a good win against a real quality team and I thought we played well. In the third quarter when we came out, I thought we weren’t as aggressive as we were to start the game. They got right back in the game, but the good thing about it is that once we got and we were able to regroup, come back, play well, and do a good job down the stretch. I thought that Grant Hill was great, and obviously Steve was terrific with 25 points, 17 assists, and just one turnover. I thought that was about as aggressive as I have seen Steve offensively and we really needed that and I think he understood that. Scola really hurt us the last game with his rebounding and he was just so much bigger than Matt. I thought Matt did a great job of trying to front him and being active and not letting him get to the sweet spot where he could post him up, so that was good. J-Rich played well, but I wasn’t able to get him back in. We were going so good, and Dudley had done such a good job on Artest, even with the three point back shot that he made. We just weren’t able to get J-Rich back in the game, but he played well for us. There were a bunch of guys who did a great job. I thought Lou came in and did a great job for us. If you look at his lines, he didn’t score but he had eight rebounds and a couple of blocked shots, but just his presence out there I thought was really good. He did a great job on Scola also, we tried to play him on Yao for a few minutes. He shot it, tried to box him out and went right back up and got it and put it in. It was a good win for us against a real good quality team, and right now that’s what we need.”

Suns Guard Jason Richardson (18 points, 5 rebounds):

(On the team’s mentality)

“It has been good before this win, we know we’ve got out backs against the wall and these last eight games are must wins for us. We did everything we were supposed to do tonight and got the win.”

(On how the team keeps hope for the playoffs)

“Because it’s not over – we’re not eliminated yet. We’re going to continue to play and we still believe we have a chance. We have a game on Sunday in Dallas that’s going to be huge for us, but we’ve got one on Friday and we’ve got to take it one at a time.”

(On the game being physical)

“It was pretty physical and there was a lot of banging. Even though Houston, they have a playoff spot – they’re playing for position, so they weren’t going to come out here and let us win the game.”

Suns Center Shaquille O’Neal (22 points, 10 rebounds):

(On the game)

“It was a must-win game for us. Our guys played well – good team ball and made stops when we really needed to make stops. Seven more (wins) – that’s what needs to be done.”

(On the disparity between the home and road records of late)

“We let a lot of games slip away this year – but there are seven games left and we’ve got to win them all out – that’s the bottom line.”

(On facing Yao Ming)

“It’s something I’m used to and something I like. I wouldn’t call it, ‘physical,’ it’s just two big trees leaning on each other and going at it. It was a well-officiated game when it came to me and him. That’s how the game should be officiated – you should let two big guys rumble and scratch and do all that stuff.”

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