Chron: Rockets pull out a win over Cavaliers, 98-87

Rockets stagger James, Cavs
With Cleveland missing star, McGrady, Yao pave way to win
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NBA:
Cleveland 87,
Houston 98
FINAL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMING UP
Friday:
vs. Milwaukee, 9:00 p.m.
TV/Radio:
Listings; KILT (610 AM)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND - The savior of Cleveland basketball could not stand upright. LeBron James wobbled and staggered off the court Wednesday night, with an escort of helpers guiding him and 20,562 in Gund Arena ready to help as soon as they could exhale.


The Rockets, in their way, knew how he felt.

This was how they arrived in Cleveland, stunned by a pair of rapid-fire trades and weak in the knees from the hit they took in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

The Cavaliers hope James recovers as nicely.

The Rockets bore little resemblance to the team that lay down at Bradley Center, starting well and finishing with a rush in a 98-87 victory over the Cavaliers that snapped a five-game road losing steak in an arena in which Cleveland had won 11 of 13 games this season.

"It was huge," said Tracy McGrady, who had 34 points, seven rebounds and five assists. "I think everybody is tired of being around that .500 position. We want to get over it. And the showing last night, it was pretty embarrassing.

"We wanted to forget about what happened last night and focus on tonight and coming out with a lot more intensity, a lot more pride. I think we did that from start to finish. And it also helped when you have a guy like LeBron James go out."

James' final game as a teen-ager ended late in the first half in a collision with Dikembe Mutombo.

McGrady had driven toward the rim before firing a pass back toward a cutting Mutombo. James changed direction to follow the pass. With Mutombo still cutting to the basket, his right elbow crashed into the left side of James' left eye socket.

The injury was called a peri-orbital bruise, and James was sent for X-rays and a CT scan. The Cavaliers did not estimate how long James would be out, but after he staggered off the court 1:53 before halftime, unable to lift his head out of a pained hunch, it was clear he would not return Wednesday.

"He was laying there and I was like, 'What happened, what happened?' " Mutombo said. "All I know I was running to the basket. T-Mac was trapped, and he was trying to get the ball to me. LeBron turned around to stop me going to the basket. The collision happened."

But when James went out, the Rockets already had built a 10-point lead. James had three points, three rebounds and five assists in 17 minutes.

"With a guy like that, you're not going to keep him shut down the whole way," McGrady said. "We had him shut down, but he was still making his teammates better, finding them and they were knocking down shots. He doesn't have to score. He's like Jason Kidd. Those guys don't have to score."

But the Rockets were moving the ball crisply and more telling perhaps, defending as they had not the night before during a 115-87 loss to the Bucks.

The Rockets held the Cavs, a 45.5-percent shooting team, to 37.7 percent. That was not simply a function of James going out. Cleveland shot worse (36.6 percent) in the first half when James was in the game.

"We tried a lot harder tonight," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "You give yourself a chance when you defend."

The Cavaliers, however, put together an 11-1 run midway through the third quarter to take a one-point lead. After the Rockets built their lead to 11 points in the fourth quarter, Cleveland closed to within 88-85 with 4 1/2 minutes to play.

But the Rockets continued to defend well enough for just a few shots to turn away the Cavaliers again. Yao Ming, who finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, hit a turnaround jumper on the baseline and sank a free throw.

McGrady pulled up for a jumper and then sank a pair of free throws for a 95-87 lead with 65 seconds left. McGrady then nailed a top-of-the-key 3-pointer as the Rockets rebuilt their largest lead of the night.

"Usually down the stretch, we turn the ball over or we're not playing our best defense," Maurice Taylor said. "But we did those things down the stretch to help us get the win."

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2970480

 

Let's get to .500 first then we can talk about getting over it



I'm just saying

 

Don't worry it'll come Friday, I have faith.

 

I know and I've probably been the one saying it but hell I guess I'm ever the optimist, I mean I'm the type that watches any game until the very end, God that habit hurt on Tuesday nite.