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Saturday December 20, 2008 1:23 AM

Yao Carries Rockets Past Kings


Center shows All-Star form while leading club to 107-96 victory



Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - He may never be a SportsCenter staple. He's not going to wow crowds with breathtaking dunks or acrobatics. Instead, Yao Ming will just have to settle for merely being one of the most devastatingly efficient big men in the NBA today.

The Sacramento Kings found that out the hard way Friday night, falling 107-96 as Houston's All-Star center carved them up with surgical precision on his way to a nearly flawless offensive performance.

The numbers: 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting, while going 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Toss in 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks and it's easy to see that - with or without the highlight reels - Yao's play speaks volumes about his place in the game, and how far he's come from some of the inconsistency which plagued him early on in the season.

“I think the beginning of the season, I tried to get a lot of really clean looks – I didn’t want [much] contact," said Yao after the game. "But ever since late November, I've been trying to use my body more so that I can get inside and draw the foul and draw the contact. I think I'm using my size to my advantage. I've been getting more deep touches and also more free throws.”

Yao's teammates have noticed the difference in his approach, too.

"Yao has to work," said Shane Battier. "And he’s worked a lot harder to establish that deep position and we’ve done a better job of looking for him. That’s our game right there. He goes 11-of-13, 8-of-9 from the line, we’re not going to lose too many of these games. We’d be fools not to go to that every time we can."

The Rockets (17-9) began the game by effectively utilizing that strategy during a first quarter which witnessed both teams set a blistering offensive pace. Houston lit up the scoreboard with 30 first quarter points (11 from Yao) on the strength of 12-of-20 (60%) shooting. Unfortunately, the Kings were even hotter – especially John Salmons. The 7th year swingman out of Miami was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in the opening frame, including a buzzer-beating tip-in that gave Sacramento a 33-30 lead after twelve minutes of play.

And Salmons (26 points) wasn’t done yet. He knocked down his first two shots of the second quarter as well before passing the scoring torch along to Bobby Jackson. The former Rocket drained a pair of three-pointers mid-way through the period, as Sacramento’s lead ballooned to 11 with 5:34 to go.

Tired of seeing the Kings score at will, Houston’s defense finally locked in and took over. The Rockets forced Sacramento into a bevy of bad shots and turnovers, enabling them to close out the half on a 15-4 run to tie things up at 55 heading into the break.

“The game was similar to the last one," said Rockets Coach Rick Adelman. "They came out and we weren’t making any stops at all. They shot it really well and we were able to come back and tie it at halftime. But we’ve got to play 48 minutes defensively. You give them credit, but we just have to be better than that; especially if we’re going to try and win on the road.”

“I agree with [Coach],” added Luis Scola, who was sensational in his own right Friday night, scoring 23 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. “I think we can play 48 minutes the exact same way we played the second half. So we need to try to get there as soon as we can, and then we’ll be a seriously tough team to play against.”

Houston's defense finally caught up with its offense in the second half, though the Rockets still struggled to put Sacramento away. The Kings scored just 41 points after halftime, but stayed within striking distance late thanks to yet another Jackson (19 points) trey which cut Houston's lead to six with just 2:55 to play.

But from that point on, it was the Yao show, as the man in the middle carried his team down the stretch, scoring 8 of Houston's final 11 points.

"I feel like we’re making great strides forward," said Tracy McGrady (18 points, 8 assists). "We’re trying to establish what we really want to do offensively, and that’s pound the ball inside to our big fella. With me coming back, we’ve made a conscious effort to do that because he’s shooting 50 percent down there and he’s a big force for us, so our offense needs to go through him. We have shooters on this team. We have creators on this team. The more we go to him, the more it will open for us on the perimeter."

QUOTES

RICK ADELMAN

(On Luis and Yao): Luis was really good, especially in that one stretch where he ran down three or four offensive boards and kept the ball alive for us. And we did a good job going into Yao at the end – they didn’t really have any answers for him.

(on Yao): If he has some patience and they’re going to let him catch the ball, then he’s going to have good things happen. I think he’s more patient now. Sometimes he rushes and tries to put the ball down before he sees what they’re really doing, and that’s when he gets in trouble. And we’ve been really trying to emphasize that, if he kicks it out, and he’s following it all the time, then we’ve got to keep looking for him. Because they may come at him once, but once we kick it out, now they’re rotating out trying to find shooters and if he keeps following, he’s going to get the ball again. I think it’s patience probably more than anything else.

(on the difference it makes to have T-Mac back): It makes a difference because Tracy made some really good plays tonight. When he gets the ball into the middle or near the basket, he’s going to make the right pass and he’s going to find the right people, and that just helps everybody out.

(on focus): Our concentration has to be there. If you play a game like that on the road, you may not win it. Fortunately, we got this one before we go back on the road, so now we have to see if we can build on it.

(on Aaron Brooks): He’s been pretty good. I still think he can take his shots – he’s been passing up some shots that he’s just got to take. I thought we did that a number of times tonight, where we just passed a shot up and by the time we looked to shoot it, the clock was winding down. A number of guys did that. You’ve got to take your shots. When we kick the ball out and you’re open, that’s a shot you’ve got to take. So I think tonight we were a little bit too unselfish.

TRACY MCGRADY

(On the game) “I think that collectively as a team we have to sustain that defensive mentality that we had in the second half of the ball game. The first half they ( Sacramento) shot a high percentage. They got any shot that they wanted. They only scored 41 points in the second half, so it is a matter of us pulling it together for 48 minutes instead of 24.”

(On Aaron Brooks starting) “I think he is doing well. I think it is more of him getting comfortable at running the team and controlling the tempo because when you are out there playing with myself and Yao and helping us score, knowing how to pick your spots, I think that he is learning that each game and I tell him to not worry about us. He’s so worried about trying to get us the ball it can be a problem sometimes. We just want him to play his game and stay aggressive.”

AARON BROOKS

(On the game) “We knew it was going to be like that. Sacramento is a good team. They had a rough one against Portland and the game before that they beat the Lakers at home. They are a good team. When they are hitting shots, they can play with anybody. Like I said, it was going to be a grind out game and we won at the end and it's a win.”

(On Yao being 8th on the Rockets all-time scorers list) “He is one of the Rockets greats already so it's not surprising for me. Otis (Thorpe) was a great player and Yao is Yao. He is 7'6 and he can move and he can score easily, so I'm not surprised by that. It's a great accomplishment for him and I'm sure he is going to pass up a lot more people.”

LUIS SCOLA

(On the Rockets with a healthy Artest, Yao and McGrady): They’re great players, but Shane, Carl and everybody else are doing a fantastic job, too. It’s not only Yao, Ron and Tracy – we’ve got a lot of players who can play and make a difference in many different ways. Obviously Carl is not the same as Yao, but he keeps the ball alive so many times, he passes so many times – same thing as Brooks as Shane. So it’s not always those three guys; they’re definitely superstars, but we’ve got a lot more than those three.

I think we’re a solid team who can beat everybody, but if we don’t play defense it’s going to be hard against anybody. So we struggled in the first half and came into the locker room and said, ‘We’ve got to play defense.’ No matter who you play against, if you don’t play defense it’s going to be a tough game.

(on what it takes to play great defense): It’s not only energy. You have to be in high energy mode, but you also have to be focused, plus you have to have a good gameplan, you have to stick with it and you’ve got to be smart. So defense is not only energy - it’s a big part of it; when you make mistakes you can make it up with energy and hustle - but if you want to be a really, really good team, energy should always be there, plus you need to have all those other things.

YAO MING

(on what it means to have McGrady back): I think when he came back, he draws a lot of defensive attention, of course. And also he’s the best passer on the team, so when he penetrates to the paint, at least there are three players running to him and he can find the open man. That’s basketball: Drive and kick, drive and kick. Even I try to do it by posting up and kicking out. So when you have maybe three guys who can do that on one team, it makes the game much easier

RON ARTEST

(On the Rockets offensive rhythm) “We were playing bad for 24 minutes (the first half) and then we picked it up. We just needed to get in rhythm. Hopefully, we can get our rhythm earlier next time.”

(On the Kings) “I played with them and I know what type of players they are. I knew they were tough players. I knew they were capable of really putting together a good game. They are a couple of players away from being a really good team.”

SHANE BATTIER

(On Rockets second half defense) “At half time we knew we had a sub par defensive effort that started the last couple minutes of the second quarter. We don't feel that any team can score 55 points against us in the first half. We came out with a much better focus and resolve in the second half and they scored 41 points in the second half which is much more to our liking.”

CARL LANDRY

That’s our job to come in here and bring energy and play every possession as hard as we can. And if we do that, only good things can happen. And if they’re not, then you look at yourself in the mirror and you can’t complain because you gave 110%

(on how he and Scola push each other): No doubt about it. Not only n the games, but in practice, the walk-throughs – we talk to each other and try to help each other. We’re pretty much the same type of player; we bring energy and every team needs that, so that’s what we try to bring to the table.

KINGS COACH KENNY NATT

(on the game)   “ Houston is a very good basketball team. I was more impressed with our guy’s effort tonight. We were our own worst enemy with our turnovers. Houston was a monster on the boards and you have to give them credit for the win. We didn’t fold and we came back and played hard until the end. Houston is a very strong team.”

(on his team’s play)   “We are making strides each game and if we continue to give this type of effort, we are going to win some games.’

JOHN SALMONS 

(on the game)  “It’s frustrating. Teams are going to make runs and that is what this league is about. We have to continue to fight. We were moving the ball (in the first half) and we were getting it to the open man. That’s the way the game is supposed to flow. We haven’t been a consistent team this year.”

(on playing against Ron Artest)  “It’s always fun to play against Ron because he is an awesome competitor. He makes you raise the level of your play when you go against him.”

BRAD MILLER 

(on the key to the game)  “We had a bad run of turnovers and that killed us. Otherwise, the game would have been a different story. We tried to make Yao move around and be an active defender. He is such a load on the offensive end so you have to make him work defensively.”

(on the Rockets)   “They are getting more comfortable in Rick’s (Adelman) system. They are doing better with his offense and Ron Artest gives them a different look from last year.”

B0BBY JACKSON

(on the Rockets)   “If they get healthy, they can beat anybody. If they stay healthy, the sky is the limit. If Tracy can get healthy by the playoffs, they will be a tough team to beat.”

 FRANCISCO GARCIA

(on the game)   “We played great but at the end we had too many bad breaks. We turned the ball over too much and offensive rebounds killed us.”

NOTES

Tonight’s attendance of 18,271 marks the seventh sellout of the season at Toyota Center.

Houston moved to 11-0 (5-0 at home) this season when reaching the century mark following a 107-96 win over Sacramento.

The Rockets continued their strong play in the paint by outscoring the Kings 50-28 in that area. Houston has now reached 50 or more points in the paint five times in the last seven games (50 on 12/5/08 vs. Golden State, 54 on 12/9/08 vs. Atlanta, 56 on 12/12/08 at Golden State and 50 on 12/16/08 vs. Denver).

Houston matched its season high in assists with another 26 tonight. The Rockets also dished out 26 assists at Golden State (12/12/08) and 26 in the previous game vs. Denver (12/16/08).

The Rockets returned from an 11-point deficit in the second quarter for the victory tonight, which marked the second time Houston has come back from a double-digit deficit to win this season. The Rockets also trailed by 12 points after the opening 12 minutes of play in a 103-91 victory at Washington (11/21/08).

The Kings connected on 8-of-16 (.500) 3-pointers and 18-of-20 (.900) at the charity stripe, setting Houston’s opponent high in free throw percentage this season. The previous best was .882 by the Suns at Phoenix (11/12/08).

Yao Ming finished with 30 points (11-13 FG, 8-9 FT), six rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Yao now has at least 30 points in each of his last two games (32 on 12/16/08 vs. Denver), which marks the first time he has recorded consecutive outings of 30-plus points since 2006-07 (30 on 4/14/07 vs. New Orleans/Oklahoma City and 34 on 4/16/07 vs. Phoenix). Yao (8,185) also moved past Otis Thorpe (8,177) into eighth on the Rockets all-time list for most career points scored.

Luis Scola matched his season-high 23 points (10-21 FG, career high FGA) and pulled 10 rebounds. He originally set his season best with 23 points (10-20 FG) at Oklahoma City (11/17/08). Scola now has three 20-point games on the season and seven double-doubles.

Tracy McGrady had 18 points and a game-high eight assists. McGrady had a triple-double with 10 assists in the previous game vs. Denver (12/16/08).

Carl Landry came off the bench to record nine points and 11 boards, matching his career high for rebounds (11 on 1/11/08 vs. Minnesota, 11 on 2/22/08 at New Orleans and 11 on 11/1/08 vs. Oklahoma City).

John Salmons had 26 points (11-16 FG), including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Salmons now has 15 20-point games this season.

Bobby Jackson returned to Houston with a season-high 19 points (3-5 3FG) off the bench for the Kings.

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