[CHRONIC] Blazers 96, Rockets 87: The good sign that came after 'the comeback.'

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/10/blazers_96_rockets_87_the_good.html

There was a bright spot, and it was not that fourth quarter rally.

That was OK. It kept the next six months from feeling like an impending Alaskan winter. It was a decent reward, I presume, for those that stayed up late. It might have even kept Bill and Matt from digging too deep into their bag of happy talk so early in the season.

The Rockets, however, knew what it was. They hit the Blazers when they weren't looking. Portland led by 20 and by then, it was a wonder that the lead was not more. They seemed headed for a 30-, maybe 35-point win. The Rockets were headed for a line in the record book, if they still have record books, for fewest points scored. So the Blazers let up and the Rockets finally played with some urgency and made it seem closer than most of the night ever was.

The bright spot came next.

The Rockets trotted out none of the 'gallant effort' stuff. They did not say they had proved their mettle and determination and all that nonsense that you don't get to say when you are so awful for so long into the night.

They pointed out what they did better, but more to explain what they will have to do going forward than to excuse a terrible start to the season.

"We just have to have to intensity for the whole game," Rockets guard Aaron Brooks said.

"I hope what we take away from this game is the effort we have to put forth," Shane Battier said. "We gave that effort in the fourth quarter. You can say the game was out of reach by then and they relaxed. But we have to take away that we were in attack mode and defensively we were flying around. That has to be our team."

Mostly though, they were like Carl Landry, which figured because overall, they were a lot like Landry most of the night. Dreadful for three quarters, Landry turned things around a bit in the fourth. Then he smacked himself for what he did wrong, rather cheering for a few minutes that went right.

"That's the way we got to play throughout the whole game," Landry said. "We made a lot of mistakes, I know I did, personally. I got to get better. Those are mistakes — I'm talking about myself — that I can't do for the rest of the season and that I have to correct now. I have to make sure the mistakes I made tonight, that I don't make them anymore. And I know I'm not the only one who feels like this."

If so, that would be a lot more significant than losing by nine instead of 20.

• • •

The funny thing was that the Blazers' great size advantage did not dominate the game nearly as much as the stats might make it seem. The Blazers got 51 rebounds, but that will happen when the other team missed 51 shots and seven free throws. They blocked 12 shots, but many of those were from the Rockets forcing the ball into the trees and trying to squeeze through impossible shots rather than looking to kick the ball back out to open teammates.

Greg Oden averaged 13.6 points in the preseason. He had two on Tuesday on a last-minute put back. Joel Przybilla had two. Even LaMarcus Aldridge, who appeared unstoppable, was held to 11.

The Blazers were better when they went small, with Travis Outlaw at the four, and switching all screens with quickness rather than size. The Rockets were at their best when they went small, too, playing Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry together for the whole fourth quarter.

The Rockets' comeback was fueled in many ways by the Blazers letting up. But they also fell so far behind because they shot 3s terribly, and got a combined 29 points, on 9 of 29 shooting, by the starters other than Brooks.

• • •

I did a story over the weekend on the Rockets' stat crew, something different for the day the basketball preview section was running. I felt a little funny about it, given that it included a lot of gushing about a bunch of guys nobody sees. I've noticed how good they are for years. So has the NBA. I get reminders on the road all the time.

Tuesday offered one of those reminders.

We see these freaky Chuck Hayes defensive plays from time to time and he made one in the second half. With Brandon Roy driving, Hayes came over, got a piece of the shot, caught the rebound while falling out of bounds and passed ahead to Trevor Ariza, a blocked shot, a rebound and a terrific play.

It was scored steal, Ariza.