[Chron] Back problem sidelines Rocket during victory over Trail Blazers

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3703148.html

March 6, 2006, 1:12AM
T-Mac down again
Back problem sidelines Rocket during victory over Trail Blazers

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

In their long-shot efforts to make a late run to a playoff spot, the Rockets came up with a new plan to make up ground.

They not only beat the Portland Trail Blazers 102-84 before 14,046 at Toyota Center on Sunday, they thought they beat them in the first quarter.

The trick, of course, will be getting the NBA to count Sunday as two wins.

But while the Rockets work on that, they must face the worrisome prospect of a key loss.

Forward Tracy McGrady, who has missed all or part of 15 games this season with back spasms, left Sunday's game late in the third quarter with a sore back.

McGrady showed few signs of back pain, scoring 18 points, with four rebounds, three assists and three steals before going out after 31 minutes. But after several minutes of stretching with hopes of returning, McGrady's night was declared over with the fourth quarter to play.

"He just hit (the court) and got a little tight," Rockets trainer Keith Jones said. "He fell on that jump shot. When he walked out of here, he was feeling pretty good."

McGrady described his back as "a little tight."

"It's sore," he said. "It's one of those things where I won't know until Tuesday (when the Rockets play the Minnesota Timberwolves). I'm going to get some treatment tomorrow. I'm going on the trip, but the status (of playing) is unknown."

By the time he walked off the court, the Rockets had come back from a horrible second quarter in which they blew all of a 16-point, first-quarter lead, having given away 12- and 11-point leads in the first two games of the four-game homestand.


'Best center'
But Sunday, after Yao Ming made just two of his first 12 shots, he started to roll through the second half. By the time he sat with five minutes left, he had collected a season-high 32 points and 13 rebounds, and the Rockets led by 18 on their way to a 22-point cushion.

"I feel very good right now," Yao said. "Since I came to the Rockets, since I came back from the surgery, my body feels the best right now. I'm using the skill right now. But I'm still looking forward."

Yao has become so reliable, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy on Sunday called him "the best regular-season center in the NBA."

But Sunday, he struggled early. McGrady had driven the Rockets to their fast start, but that was gone, too. The Rockets had not only led by 16 in the first quarter, holding the Blazers to nine points 11 minutes into the game, they were rolling so easily, they seemed to almost not have to try.

When they went to their bench, they tested that theory.

"The starters did a good job to start the game," Van Gundy said. "The bench, inexplicably, is bereft of energy and intensity, and we have all young guys who are trying to carve out a career. I don't get it."

When he went back to the starters for the second half, the Rockets rolled easily again. Their 37 points in the third quarter were their most in any quarter this season. After a 3-of-13 first half, Yao made all five of his shots in the quarter, scoring 17 points. The Rockets made 13 of 20 shots (65 percent) to go from a one-point deficit to a 14-point lead.

But this time, they did not shut it down in the fourth quarter, even with McGrady out, getting more off the bench to never allow the lead to slip to single digits.


T-Mac starts it
"In the first half, T-Mac gave us a very good start," Yao said. "We did not take care of that. We thought the game was over there. We think about next game or maybe tomorrow off or something. Portland did what a lot of teams did to us, tie the game and go over us.

"We wasted our lead. So at halftime, coach said, 'If you don't want to play hard, sit on the bench.' That's really scary. That really scared people.

"Then in the second half, everybody was playing hard and trying to finish as well as we can. But this is just one victory of the many we need for the playoffs."

They got that one victory by beating the Trail Blazers twice — even if the standings won't show it.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com


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Rockets Summary

Diver and flopper

On the occasion of the Academy Awards, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy gave his NBA Best Actor Award.

" Reggie Evans would definitely get best actor in the league," Van Gundy said of the Denver power forward, just days after the Rockets played the Nuggets. "I am so sick of watching that guy flop I can't stand it. It is an absolute disgrace what he does. Those two fouls he supposedly drew on Yao (Ming) the other night were a joke — jumping into the front row. The NBA's got to do something about it.

"He's taken flopping to a new level. The (officials) who look at him, you could eliminate it in one or two games, if you look at him and call a foul every time. He throws himself into the air with minimal contact. And because he does it on every possession, sometimes he does get hit, but you would never know when. It's too hard a game to referee.

"And he's too good a player to be jumping around."

Van Gundy had praised the rest of Evans' play before Friday's game and again Sunday.

"I love his competitive spirit, I love his intensity and I hate the way the game has grown to where you can act your way to calls," Van Gundy said. "In hockey, I like (that) they fine, they fine for dives. And every time the guy exaggerates the contact, the foul would be on him."


Brunson activated
Point guard Rick Brunson was moved to the active roster for his second game with the team. The move put forward Maciej Lampe on the inactive list.

Barring injuries, the rotation is unlikely to change.

"You would have to play him ahead of bigs that are better than him right now," coach Jeff Van Gundy said of Lampe's status. "You could play him ahead of Chuck (Hayes), I guess, but I don't think to experiment for the sake of experimentation would be prudent right now."


Rockets' ratings down
ESPN apparently has seen enough of the Rockets.

The network has dropped the Rockets' March 15 game at Dallas and the March 31 game against Washington at Toyota Center from the schedule.


Last word
"Yao (Ming) was too much for us. We tried doubling him and playing him straight-up in the post and he had an answer for whatever we put on him."

— Blazers coach Nate McMillan


Inside the numbers
• 0 — Points for Portland centers Brian Skinner and Ha Seung-Jin on the night Yao Ming had a season-high 32.
• 19 — Rockets' fast break points, a season high.
• 18 — Previous Rockets' fast-break points high — also against the Trail Blazers.
• 23 — Points by Portland guard Steve Blake, a career high.

JONATHAN FEIGEN