[Chron] Ugly? This win was a masterpiece

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5615173.html

March 13, 2008, 12:45AM
COMMENTARY

Rockets seal 20th consecutive win for a piece of NBA history

By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

ATLANTA — This is the one the Rockets might remember after all the others are a distant memory.

This one tested their resolve unlike the others. This one was about grit and will and all those things championship teams absolutely must have.

If you think the Rockets won ugly Wednesday night, you simply don't understand. This one was beautiful.

The Rockets won because they are a relentless defensive team, because they went hard after every rebound and be-cause they took care of the ball.

Normal teams don't win this game. Normal teams get discouraged that shots aren't falling. Normal teams don't weather storm after storm.

Defense and hustle and poise kept the Rockets in a game they shouldn't have been in. Down the stretch, it was Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola scoring with offensive rebounds that got the Rockets some breathing room.

It was Shane Battier making Joe Johnson work for every shot, and Hayes going after every loose ball, every rebound.

And then Tracy McGrady finished it off, doing what great players are supposed to do, what he has done again and again the last two months.

It all sounds like a cliché, right? Like a remake of Hoosiers. That's how it feels.

There are nights when you watch the Rockets play and you wonder if aliens abducted last season's underachievers and replaced them with a team Bob Knight and Dean Smith would love as much as Rick Adelman.

So we inch along down the road of history. The Rockets beat Atlanta 83-75 to become the third team in NBA history to win 20 straight games.

"It wasn't pretty," Adelman said, "but it might have been the best one yet."


A giddy locker room
That's how it felt inside their locker room. There was a sense of giddiness, a sense that they'd won one of those games that should have proved something to themselves and to those of us watching.

"Of the 20 games, this one is the most appreciated," Hayes said. "We really had to fight for this one."

Check it out. The Rockets shot 33 percent from the field. Rafer Alston was three for 18, Luis Scola two for nine and Battier four for 11.

The Rockets trailed by 10 points early and by a point at halftime. They were up by one with five minutes remaining before a 10-0 run finished the Hawks off.

Amazingly, they never got discouraged. Even when it looked like they'd never find a productive offense combination, they never blinked on the defensive end.

"We stayed within striking distance," Adelman said. "Chuck was incredible. He's amazing to watch out there. You can't give Shane enough credit. Defense is the only thing that kept us in the game."


Escaping the trap
This was a trap game in every sense of the word. It was a quiet arena, a bored crowd.

If there was going to be any excitement, the Rockets were going to have to create it themselves.

Carl Landry's injury and early foul calls against Hayes and Scola shortened the bench even more.

And the Hawks are 19-13 at home and fighting for the Eastern Conference's final playoff berth.

"The stars were aligned for us to get beat," Battier said. "But defense gives you a chance to win every night. You can't control whether your shots go in. You can control defense and effort. That's the thing that has been consistent."

McGrady joked that he'd given himself more than a chance by taking 28 shots. No problem there.

The Rockets got points from nine players, but McGrady was the guy who was going to have to win it.

Part of being a great player is understanding when to take games over and when to get others involved. McGrady again got it just right.

"I'm going to do what I have to do to get us a good shot," he said.


Hard week ahead
Yes, it's going to end someday. They've got both the Lakers and Celtics next week followed by a three-game road trip. They play 10 of their final 15 on the road.

There will be plenty of grousing if McGrady doesn't get out of the first round again.

But nothing should detract from this amazing streak, this 28-3 run, this stretch of games when the Rockets have been almost perfect.

There was nothing artistic about Wednesday's game and maybe that made it even more special.

"We have great belief and trust in each other," Battier said. "It's hard for people outside of this room to understand."


Listen to Richard Justice weekdays from 10 a.m.-noon on 1560 AM. richard.justice@chron.com