[Chron] Van Gundy: "his (Yao's) spirit was as important to the game as his numbers"

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3711227.html

Rockets rally past Pacers
T-Mac leaves early, but Yao fuels comeback from 17 down

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

They were tougher, more determined. But that would not have been enough.

They had Yao Ming dominating again, carrying them through a wall of Indiana Pacers muscle. But they were too far back to come back, even with one unstoppable force leading them.

They were better defensively, shutting down the Pacers in the fourth quarter. But as required as that was, the Rockets needed more. They needed it all.

Perhaps they just wanted it as badly as they need every win within their increasing reach. But in a season in which so many games like Wednesday's were lost, particularly with Tracy McGrady going out with his back flaring up again, the Rockets rode a stirring fourth-quarter run to a 103-99 victory over the Pacers, their largest comeback of the season.

"To pull one out like that, that's great, man," Rockets guard Luther Head said. "To be down 17, just keep fighting, never give up — hopefully, we can learn from that. Earlier this season, we had games like that and just shut it down. Tonight, we changed all that."

Even their most inspiring win of the season could not change their season all at once, any more than they could heal McGrady's aching back. McGrady, who missed Tuesday's game with a sore back, started and played 19 minutes in the first half, scoring 15 points. Less than two minutes into the second half, he was through for the night.

"It's frustrating," McGrady said. "I've been dealing with it all season. It's the same old issue I've been dealing with. I couldn't tell you, but as of right now, I won't be playing (Sunday in San Antonio)."

But on Wednesday, the Rockets came back the same way they had rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves without McGrady the night before. On Tuesday, they held the Timberwolves to 1-of-19 shooting to start the fourth quarter. On Wednesday, they shut down the Pacers, holding them to 4-of-25 (16 percent) shooting in the fourth quarter.

Mentally tough

"We were mentally tough," Yao said. "We were down almost 20 points and kept playing, and believed somebody would step up. But everybody stepped up."

No one, however, was larger. Yao finished with a season-high 38 points to go with 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and untold numbers of shots that his looming presence changed.

"I know my job," Yao said. "I know what our team needs me to do, to score, rebound, guard people, guard penetrations. I know who I am. I know what I need to do."

But even that, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said, did not capture all he meant to Wednesday's win.

"Again, his spirit was as important to the game as his numbers," Van Gundy said. "When it wasn't going right and it looked like it could go the other way, I thought our guys were a lot mentally stronger.

"I would say that they're more willing to ride Yao, and he is more willing to be ridden and know it's OK to continue to be a hungry scorer."

But with 16 minutes left, McGrady out and Yao on the bench, the Rockets trailed by 17 points. Pushed to the brink of a rout, the Rockets reeled the game back within reach, with an 11-0 run to end the third and start the fourth quarters to pull to within five.

With 3:52 left, they completed the comeback, with Stromile Swift throwing down a nasty dunk for a 94-93 lead.

The Pacers went in front, but missed their next seven shots before Peja Stojakovic cut to the rim to take Stephen Jackson's inbound pass for a layup and a 99-98 Indiana lead with 58.2 seconds left.

Heads-up play

But while the Pacers were missing, the Rockets turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions. Finally, with the Pacers holding that one-point lead, Stojakovic, who had 29 points, missed a jumper, and Jeff Foster, with Yao in his face, missed two putbacks.

Rafer Alston came away with the third rebound and passed ahead to Keith Bogans for a fast-break layup that put the Rockets back in front 100-99 with 25.3 seconds left.

"I saw that Rafer had the ball and Anthony Johnson was the only guy back," said Bogans, who had 14 points and eight rebounds. "Scot Pollard was even with me, so I knew if I sprinted as hard as I could, I could get out front."

The Pacers got an open look for the lead, but Jackson's 3 caught the front of the rim. Head got the rebound and made one free throw. When Johnson missed a 14-footer with 5.4 seconds left, Bogans grabbed the rebound and sealed the win with two free throws with 3.5 seconds left.

With that, the Rockets had their best transformation, not just on Wednesday, but from all the similar games they had lost.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

ROCKETS SUMMARY

Barry calls it quits
A week after he was released by the Rockets in time to be eligible for another team's postseason roster, Jon Barry said he had chosen instead to retire. The Nuggets had expressed interest in Barry, but he had said he was likely going to retire and remain in Houston.

"I'm done," Barry said. "I feel all right. I feel good. I choose to look back at all the good things that happened to me. I made it 14 years. That's pretty dang good, I think. I look back at the positive times I had and I feel good about it."

Barry has not spoken with the Rockets about a possible position with the organization, but said he would likely look into broadcasting first.

"At some point, I'd like to be a GM," Barry said. "Right now, I'd like to do some broadcasting. ... Now that I know I'm not going to play, throw me on a playoff game or in studio for a playoff game."

Brunson added to mix
Rick Brunson moved into the Rockets rotation on Monday, serving as a backup point guard behind Rafer Alston, and playing key minutes in the fourth quarter.

"I'm the type of guy that will stay ready, whether it's the first quarter or the fourth quarter," Brunson said. "I have confidence in myself. I know what I can do. I know what I can't do. I try to go out there and play quality minutes. A bench player has to come in and change the tempo if it's too fast or too slow. You either get the guys energized and moving, or slow it down a bit."

Last word
"The big fella is putting us on his back since the All-Star break. He's scoring, he's rebounding, he's blocking shots, he's defending, he's helping out."

— Rafer Alston
Inside the numbers
• 52.8 — Percent Rockets shooting, their best in Toyota Center this season.
• 7 — Rockets wins in eight home games this season when scoring 100 or more points.
• 3 — Consecutive games scoring at least 30 points for Yao Ming, his longest such streak in his career.
• 14 — Rafer Alston assists, the most for a Rockets player this season.