ADELMAN,"Houston has a very solid team. Yao (Ming) really hurt us down the str

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ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY
(on the game) "We made a ton of mistakes in both halves, but our intensity was much better in the 2nd half which allows you to cover up some mistakes. Our effort level was much higher (in the 2nd half)...I was disappointed in our intensity in the 1st half, our softness on the boards. I thought Dikembe (Mutombo) and Juwan (Howard) gave us great effort on the boards, but we're going to have to have it (effort on the boards) team-wide. There are things that we obviously need to correct, but I did like our intensity much better in the 2nd half. Jon (Barry) made some big shots and big plays as did Rafer
(Alston) and Yao (Ming) delivered well down the stretch."

(on the play of Jon Barry) "I have been worried about his play and his intensity in the pre-season. I thought he did a good job generating intensity from the bench in the 1st half."

(on the play of team) "I went back to the starters to end the half and our intensity was low again. I was proud of how we started the 3rd quarter, that has been a problem for us, and I thought we came out warm and ready and we played a lot harder in the 2nd half. We're going to have to play a real hard
48 minutes and a lot smarter 48 minutes to win, but, tonight, heart was good enough."

(on getting Yao Ming the ball) "He's going to score...there were stretches where we should have posted him up more. You don't want to have to call a play for him because other teams scout play calls and they can guard against that. I would like to get to a point where the ball moves on the perimeter and we find him. He's a great duck-in guy. When he catches (the ball), he shoots the jump hook, it's a 75-80% shot."

TRACY McGRADY

(on the boost that the Rockets's bench gave the team tonight) "Having that depth is a real key for us. Those guys come out and not only pick up the intensity, but score as well. When I'm out of the game and Yao (Ming) is out of the game, we need guys to score as well. J.B. (Jon Barry) did a heck of a job...he shot the ball extremely well. Dikembe (Mutombo), you can't say enough. In the 2nd half he came in and when he had his number called, his rebounding was unbelievable. Those guys need to be ready and I think they will be ready."

(on the Rockets's improved play from the 1st to 2nd halves) "We're better than that, what we showed in the 1st half. It was uncalled for; we didn't take care of our business in the 1st half so we had to come out in the 2nd half and show what type of team we really wanted to be. We held those guys (Sacramento) to 16 points in the 3rd quarter. If we want to be a great team, that's what we have to do. We have to do that to start the game, we can't wait until the 2nd half."

(on the Rockets's trying to come together as a team with the new team additions) "We're all professionals and we've been in situations like this. Our whole starting 5 has 8 years experience or more. We're trying to feel each other out and it's tough. You have a new group, regardless of what we went through in pre-season. We were just a little tentative out there (at the beginning), but we'll take care of it."

JON BARRY

(on the Rockets’s improvement in the second half) “When Dikembe (Mutombo) came in the game, we just took over on the boards. We had a ton of offensive rebounds, Juwan Howard was sensational, and we played with good intensity.

There were still a lot of mistakes, but our intensity level was good to start out the third quarter. We were able to make a lot of stops. We held a good offensive team down in the third quarter and took control."

(on which areas the Rockets need to improve in) “In a lot of situations of how we cover the pick and roll, some guys were doing the wrong assignments.

Also, some of our offensive execution was not in the right spots. That’s going to happen (sometimes), but you expect that to happen in exhibition.

Now that this is for real, we can’t afford to slip up. But again, our intensity in the second half allowed us to win the game.”

JUWAN HOWARD

(on the keys to the win) "We put a lot of effort in for 48 minutes, not just in the 1st half. We had intensity during the whole game and it was refreshing to see that. Of course, we got beat on the boards. Dikembe (Mutombo) and my other teammates were trying to do our best to get ourselves 2nd shots and to try to keep the Sacramento Kings off the boards. I looked on the score sheet and I saw that Bonzi Wells had 15 rebounds right there. He was very aggressive as a guard getting in position to get the boards. I'm just ecstatic of the fact that we got a victory. I know that we cut down on the turnovers; we only had twelve tonight, which was fewer than we had in the preseason. That was a big key to our victory."

(on the Rockets' 1st half troubles) "In the first half I would say there was a lack of energy. All the guys were juiced up and excited about the start of the season after beating on each other during the month of October. In the first quarter we got in foul trouble with Yao (Ming), Tracy (McGrady) had missed some shots, myself, I, missed some easy shots. The ball wasn't falling and at times you get frustrated. It was good though that we all stayed mentally tough down the stretch.

(on the team's progress to date) "We're not rebounding the ball as well as we should; we're not taking care of the ball because we're averaging about 20 turnovers per game in the pre-season. There are certainly some things we need to get better at; there are some defensive breakdowns out there. We want to get out to a quick start like everybody else does, but the way we played in preseason, we have to put more energy into it."

STOMILE SWIFT

(on the key to the victory) "In the 2nd half, we picked up the intensity and we played harder; that's how we were able to get the win. We also started going inside to Yao (Ming) and he was scoring. That helped us a lot."

(on his slow start in the 1st half) "For me, I don't know if I was nervous. I kind of had brain freezes sometimes. I know the plays, but sometimes in the transition of the game, you forget. There were some missed coverages and blown plays for me, but all I can do is go out and play hard and learn from the mistakes I made. That's what I did in the 2nd half and if I make mistakes while playing hard then, hopefully, that will make up for it."

YAO MING

(on his foul trouble early in the game) "I'm not really frustrated by my foul trouble. I know what's wrong out of those fouls and I look forward to doing better next game. I have to move forward and I can't always be committing those fouls like I did early in the game."

(on the importance of Jon Barry tonight as a 3rd scorer for the team) "They (Sacramento) couldn't double team as much and that freed us. Most importantly, we got the win. He is a very good scorer and a very good shooter and he's definitely a player we can count on. That took a lot of pressure off of us and I believe that he can help us win a lot of games."

SACRAMENTO KINGS HEAD COACH RICK ADELMAN

(on his team's play) "We played better than last night. We missed a ton of our shots. We cut down their lead but we couldn't get over the hump. It's a lot better to see what we did and had we played that well yesterday, we probably would have won that game. Bonzi (Wells) was unbelievable on the boards. Brad (Miller) was really good in the first half and got a lot of open looks. There were a lot of positives but it is never good to lose and we have to get better."

(on Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic's shooting) "They are just missing their shots. We did a lot of things better. I just don't have an answer for it."

(on the Rockets)....."Houston has a very solid team. Yao (Ming) really hurt us down the stretch and their other guys, like Jon (Barry) feed well off each other."

SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM

(on the game) "We were right there. We got good looks but we didn't knock them down. Down the stretch Yao (Ming) was there and that was the difference."

(on Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic's shooting) "Everybody goes through their struggles during the season and both of them will work things out. That's just part of the game."

BRAD MILLER

(on the team's play) "It was a lot better than last night. We still have a lot of work to do. They (Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic) are both good shooters and they will figure it out shortly. It will be nice to get home and work on some things."

(on Jon Barry's play) "He had a really nice game. He's been playing that role for his whole career. Sometimes you get that extra step when you play against your old team."

MIKE BIBBY

(on his play) "It's two games and I know what I am capable of doing. I know my shot will come back. It's discouraging."

BONZI WELLS

(on his career rebound high) "I've always been a rebounder. I made a conscious effort to go inside and get some rebounds to help out our front line."

(on the game) "We played good in spurts and got our shots but didn't knock them down. We still lost and we have more steps to make and it still hurts."

KENNY THOMAS

(on the game) "It was tremendously better than last night. We were getting good shots and we were passing the ball and playing good defense. They (Houston) brought more energy in the second half and we didn't knock down our shots."

(on the Rockets) "They got a lot more athletic. They are going to be good. They push the ball up the court so much better than last year. They are playing a lot better off of Yao (Ming)."


Game Recap

"Obviously Barry made some big shots,” Van Gundy said. “He’s a real fine player and is under rated in terms of the impact he can have on a game and Yao really delivered down the stretch.”

The Houston Rockets used a balanced scoring attack and a second half comeback to defeat the Sacramento Kings 98-89 Wednesday night at Toyota Center. Jon Barry scored a game-high 24 points, while Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming poured in 23 and 22 points respectively. Bonzi Wells scored 22 points and pulled down 18 rebounds for the Kings who fell to 0-2 on the season. Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said that the Rockets used more energy in the second half to launch them to the win.

“I was disappointed in our intensity in the first half,” Van Gundy said. “We made a ton of mistakes in both quarters but our intensity in the second half covered up some of those.”

The over 16,000 in attendance got the red carpet treatment, literally, as fans were greeted by Rockets’ employees on a huge red carpet Wednesday symbolizing opening night at Toyota Center. If some were late, they didn’t miss much in the first few minutes as Sacramento came out of the gate on an 11-4 run to start the game.

Yao was victimized by foul trouble after looking unstoppable in the low post to start the game as he notched Houston’s first two buckets of the season. With Yao out, Brad Miller capitalized as the Kings center scored 15 of his 21 points in the first quarter. The lone Houston highlight in the first came when Stromile Swift found a crease in the Kings defense and soared over Miller and Wells for a two-handed dunk. He was fouled and converted on the three-point play. Despite Swift’s efforts on the offensive end, his defense of the pick and roll helped Sacramento hold a 27-18 edge after one.

The Rockets fought back in the second quarter. Barry scored two of his 12 points in the second frame to ignite a 15-4 Houston run. Barry was extremely efficient on the night going 8-10 from the field, including 2-3 from downtown. With Yao back in the game, Miller was neutralized and the Kings attack slowed. The Kings big man only scored four points in the last 30 minutes of action after Yao induced a charging foul early in the second quarter.

But Barry was the story in the second as he scored seven straight points during one stretch to give Houston its’ first lead at 41-39. Sacramento, led by Shareef Abdur-Rahim, ended the half on a 10-5 run. Abdur-Rahim tallied eight straight points to give the Kings a 49-46 halftime lead.

Houston came storming out of the locker room and went on a 17-4 run to start the second half. A third straight basket by Yao to start the third quarter gave the Rockets their first lead since the opening minute of the game at 51-49. Houston would not trail again. It was McGrady’s turn in the third as Houston used a strong effort by him and Dikembe Mutombo to take control of the game. McGrady was 9-21 on the night, but had just one turnover as he spent part of his night running the offense while starting point guard Rafer Alston was on the bench.

Mutombo had an immediate impact when he entered the game with a little less than six minutes to go in the third quarter. Van Gundy said after the game that it was a mistake that he had not played Mutombo in the first half. On the floor for less than a minute in the third, a Mutombo block ignited a fast break that culminated with a McGrady slam. Moments later, the 39-year old center was laying in an easy hoop after another defensive stand and the momentum shifted to the Rockets for the remainder of the game. Houston held a commanding 72-65 advantage after three.

The Kings never threatened in the fourth quarter despite a valiant effort by Wells who set a career-high with his 18 boards. Yao and Barry outdid Wells in the final quarter as the duo combined to score 10 of Houston’s last 13 points.

“Obviously Barry made some big shots,” Van Gundy said. “He’s a real fine player and is under rated in terms of the impact he can have on a game and Yao really delivered down the stretch.”

The Rockets return to action Saturday at Toyota Center as they take on the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m.


The Rockets improved to 20-19 (.513) in opening contests to the season. Houston is now 13-5 (.722) at home to open a campaign, including a 12-2 mark in the past 14 opening games at home. The Rockets stand at 7-14 (.333) when opening the season on the road, which includes a neutral-site
loss to Seattle in Yokohama in 1992.

With 24 points tonight, Jon Barry recorded his best scoring game in a Rockets uniform. His previous high with Houston was 19 points vs. Orlando (1/24/05). He was also the leading scorer for Houston, marking the first time he has ever led the Rockets in points for a game. Barry just missed out
on setting a career high for points, which he set with 25 at Atlanta (11/23/01) as a member of the Detroit Pistons.

Barry was 6-for-7 from the free throw line, marking his first miss from the charity strip since Game Three of the 2005 NBA Playoffs vs. Dallas (4/28/05), when he went 1-for-2 from the line. He had finished the preseason a perfect 18-for-18 from the free throw line.

With 22 points tonight, Yao Ming extended his streak of double-digit scoring to 44 games (began 1/18/05 vs. Indiana), which ranks as the longest such streak of his career. His best previous double-digit scoring streak was
only 23 games (done twice). Yao was also the only Rockets player to reach double digits in scoring in each of his games played this preseason.

Yao has also scored in 241 consecutive regular season games played, dating back to Nov. 9, 2002 vs. Golden State.

Barry (24), Tracy McGrady (23) and Yao (22) each reached the 20-point mark for the Rockets. Oddly enough, the last time Houston had three players score 20-plus points in the same game was also against the Kings at
Sacramento (3/13/05). In that game, two starters McGrady (22) and David Wesley (21) hit the mark, as did Mike James (20) off the bench.

Sacramento guard Bonzi Wells set a career high in rebounds tonight with 18. His previous high was 14 boards done on four occasions, with the last being vs. Portland (2/11/05).

Yao (22 points, 10 rebounds) for the Rockets and Wells (22 points, 18 rebounds) for the Kings each recorded the first double-double for their respective teams this season.

Sacramento had four players (all starters) in double digits tonight after seeing just two reach that mark last night in a loss at New Orleans/Oklahoma City (11/1). Wells (22), Brad Miller (21), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (17) and Peja Stojakovic (10) reach double-figure scoring tonight vs. the Rockets. Only Stojakovic (18) and Abdur-Rahim (14) were in
double digits against the Hornets.

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