[Chron] Rockets Revel in Hustle, Not Individual Stats

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The loose ball bounced toward the free-throw line where two Indiana Pacers were waiting. Shane Battier dove between them, hitting the floor with a splat.

The ball came loose and Luis Scola crashed after it. The scramble began and Carl Landry hurtled into the pile.

The Rockets led by 15 at the time. The franchise record for consecutive wins was already certain. Yet bodies hit the unforgiving hardwood as if the Rockets were trailing by three with a minute left in a Game 7.

"It's what these guys do," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "All these guys have worked really hard to be NBA players. Nothing came easy to them. They feed off each other. They feed off that we play a certain way night-in, night-out."

Of all the qualities that have combined to take the Rockets' winning streak to 19 games, matching the third-longest single-season run in NBA history, they celebrate this one.

The Lakers of the 33-game winning streak had Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. The Bucks with the 20-game winning streak had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and Oscar Robertson. The Lakers that won 19 had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. All won championships.

With Yao Ming out for the past seven games and the rest of the season, the Rockets have no All-Star on the floor. Though Tracy McGrady is a seven-time All-Star, even with McGrady they don't have players among the league leaders in any statistic. Instead, the Rockets dominate the plays that are not recorded with statistics.

"The plays that don't necessarily show up in the stat sheet have been monumental in our play recently," Battier said. "When a Luis Scola dives for a loose ball and creates another possession, when Chuck Hayes back-taps an offensive rebound to one of our guards, it creates extra possessions. How many extra possessions do you create for your team? If you create extra possessions and shoot a normal percentage, that's eight extra points a game. We have guys with a knack for making those plays.

"Making those hustle plays does two things. It does fire teammates up. It shows teammates you're playing hard. You want to play hard for your teammates. It raises the level of play, and it also deflates the opponent. Hustle plays, getting loose balls, you start making them and they think playing six-on-five. It's deflating. It's huge."

To the Rockets, it is the one quality that has not varied for nearly 2 1/2 months. Each deflection of an opponent's pass, each dive for a loose ball or fight for a rebound that ends up going out of bounds off the other team seems to lead to another, and then another.

Uniting factor
"It unites us," McGrady said. "It inspires the team. When you see a 41-year-old guy (Dikembe Mutombo) out there blocking shots, that's inspiring. When you see Luis and Chuck and those guys battling on the floor for loose balls and scrambling for loose balls and actually come up with them, that's inspiring.

"I got a chip on my shoulder. I'm leaving it all out on the floor. I'm trying to go for it all. I want this to be a memorable season."

With the success of Landry and Scola and the increased playing time they have gotten since the start of the streak, they, Battier and Hayes give the Rockets at least two players on the floor at all times who not only give constant effort but produce when making the hustle plays. Many players will fight for a loose ball or contested rebound; the Rockets have come away with them.

"It's huge," Hayes said. "With hustle plays, it's a matter of who wants it more. On this stretch we've been on, even Tracy is diving on the ground, getting back for a steal. We know what it takes. We know it means something."

Shades of Sura
The Rockets have had a smattering of those players in recent years, from Shandon Anderson and Steve Francis to Bob Sura and Ryan Bowen. Now, though, they come in waves, a particularly important improvement to a team that lost last season's Game 7 when it could not come up with the rebound of three consecutive missed Utah Jazz 3-pointers.

"It's a mental attitude that you have to have every night," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "That's probably the biggest thing that's overlooked with the Spurs, why they win championships. They do all that stuff. They do it night after night after night over a long period of time. It wins games for you and for them; it wins championships.

"Some guys take possessions off. Some guys take nights off. This team hasn't taken any nights off."

Instead, they collect floor burns and bruises and consider them the price of a winning streak.

"We play hard," Scola said. "If you play hard, if you dive for balls, it makes a big difference. Sometimes you're having a bad day, and you see a teammate running up and down, diving on the floor, fighting for every possession, and you say, 'I can't let this guy down. He's out there fighting for us.' We got to go out there and do the same. I truly believe it is that way, and truly believe it is really important."

More than important, the Rockets believe it explains a 19-game winning streak that has put them in select company.