ClutchFans Game Thread: Timberwolves @ Rockets 11/11/2004

Mo T stepped on KG's right foot as KG was moving right.

 

At least Boki played decent...But a lose is still a lose...

 

there...fixed that for ya...



and that isnt the way to think about it....a Rockets team without their main scorer and playmaker almost beat the regining MVP and favorite to win the title this year.

I would consider the fact that a newly rebuilt team that is still coming together, and was shorthanded, more than held their own against a veteran team of good to great players.....and the Rockets are just gonna get better as the season goes on.


ya gotta look on the bright side of life...

 

Yep, that's what I saw too- KG was shifting right and his right foot stopped on Mo's.

Now, I didn't get a chance to see the game, I only saw the two dunk clips just now... but something that looks very, very different is the tenacity with which the supporting cast looked to get Yao the ball. Minn was playing a really fantastic zone on both possessions, denying entry after entry- but the boys kept trying.

They may be weak in the 1st quarter, they may not know each other well and making bad passes on poor timing... But things have definitely changed since last year. No way Francis/Cat wait that long to break the zone & get the ball to the middle. (I love them and I miss their heart and passion, but they don't have that kind of patience.) After two tries they would give up, juke their man and see what happens.

 

can anyone post the Chron recap? I dont feel like registering or if there is a clutchfans username and password I would use that.

Thanks,

J

 

Nov. 12, 2004, 1:15AM

Garnett seals T-Wolves' win
Minnesota's star hits big shot after start puts Rockets in hole
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
There were the last-second moments that make hearts ache.
The offensive rebound Kevin Garnett stole. The jumper he swished with the game on the line. The "awful" call the Rockets still can't believe was made at all, never mind went against them.
But by then, to the Rockets, losing in the last minute was like keying a car already totaled.
The Rockets had given away another first quarter, and after the Timberwolves had beaten them 96-91 Thursday night at Toyota Center, the Rockets could not get past giving Minnesota a 12-minute head start.
"This is a first-quarter league, not a fourth-quarter league, a first-quarter league" Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We don't have that down yet. Down in Detroit. Down in Toronto. Down tonight. We were able to escape with the win against Memphis with the same start we had tonight. Tonight, we couldn't overcome it.
"First quarters tell you about your readiness to play, tell you about your aggressiveness and assertiveness. That's on me. I've been selling, but no one's buying right now. That's on me as a coach. If I can't get a team with facts ... with video ... if I can't sell what I know wins, that's on me."
The Rockets were so sluggish defensively at the start of the game, they made the absence of Tracy McGrady, out with a strained right hip, seem almost irrelevant. Bostjan Nachbar started and had 11 points. Maurice Taylor scored a season-high 19.
But the Rockets also started with the now familiar lethargy. They have led after 12 minutes only once this season. But Thursday, they allowed 36 points in the first quarter.
"You can't play half the game well and not the other half," said Yao Ming, who had 25 points, 19 in the second half. "When you play against a great team like the Timberwolves, you have to play well for all 48 minutes.
"I wasn't ready to play. I need to learn how to play an entire game the way I played in the second half."
Still, the Rockets had sliced 12 points from a 13-point Minnesota lead and trailed by five at halftime. But three minutes into the second half, with Yao still moving late and slowly, Van Gundy sat him for six minutes as if hoping to recharge his battery.
When Yao returned, he seemed more energetic and determined. He scored 11 of the Rockets' 13 points in four minutes to end the third quarter and begin the fourth. When Ryan Bowen followed that with a breakaway layup, the Rockets led 72-71, their first lead since the first three minutes of the game.
Yao even flashed his baseline-spin move, flying past Ervin Johnson to a two-handed slam.
He did not score again until making another baseline move, this time around Eddie Griffin, with 3:49 left. When Taylor followed that with a turnaround jumper, the Rockets were within 88-87 with 2:44 left.
They were back within a point when Yao made a turnaround fadeaway straight from a Garnett highlight reel. With 35.9 seconds left, the Rockets even got a stop to allow themselves to shoot for the win when Sam Cassell missed.
But Garnett grabbed the offensive rebound, and the Timberwolves ran the shot clock down to its final tick before Garnett nailed a 19-footer for a three-point lead with 8.3 seconds remaining. Garnett finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds, nine assists and three steals. Griffin taunted with reminders of what the Rockets had hoped he would bring them, scoring 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench.
But the Rockets could have survived that. They set up a play for a 3 that could send the game to overtime. Jim Jackson took off for the top of the key and Nachbar headed for the corner. But Jackson was called for fouling Latrell Sprewell before the ball was inbounded.
"It was a terrible call, nothing more, nothing less," Jackson said. "It was awful. That didn't lose us the game, but it didn't give us a chance to shoot either. It was awful. He said that I tried to set a pick. I was the shooter. (Sprewell) was trailing behind Boki. He was stuck. He was trying to get around me, ran into me, and I got called for a foul. It was awful at the end of the game to make a call like that."
Though the Timberwolves likely would have tried to foul before Jackson or Nachbar could take a 3, had the call gone against Sprewell before the ball was inbounded, the Rockets would have had two free throws and the ball.
Instead, the game was over.
It was lost, however, much earlier.
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
________________________________________
Rockets summary
McGrady targets Saturday
Tracy McGrady missed Thursday's game to rest and protect a strained groin, but he said he had improved enough that he expects to play Saturday against the Lakers.
"I feel better than I did yesterday," McGrady said. "Still not where I want to be. Improvement from yesterday, definitely. I want to play. They won't let me play.
"I pretty much think Saturday I should be fine. I'm treating it well. I'm doing the right things and doing what I'm supposed to do. It's coming around. It's getting better. It's not so much my hip anymore, it's my groin and that's getting better."
McGrady had said he would win an argument with trainer Keith Jones if he felt able to play. He lost.
"I let my guard down a little bit," McGrady said. "He kept his up. But there was nothing I could do. I did everything possible to try to play in this game. I never played 82 games (in a season) in my career. That was one of my personal goals. That's out the window now. More importantly, I'll be ready for Saturday. It's good that they're holding me out."
Jones, however, shared McGrady's confidence.
"I'm optimistic about Saturday," Jones said. "I told him we'll make a decision (this) afternoon."
Sura cleared to practice
Rockets guard Bob Sura, out since undergoing back surgery in September, participated in Thursday's shootaround, having received medical clearance Wednesday to begin working out with the team.
"I'm good to go," Sura said. "They tell me it's a slow process, working my way back into practice 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes at a time and building up to where I can go full practice and then get back to playing. I get to go full contact, get in a few drills, get in the mix a little bit.
"It feels good. It's been a long time."
Rockets trainer Keith Jones said Sura needs three weeks before he is ready to play.
Facing the music
Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy's head might have exploded had a player asked, as the Indiana Pacers' Ron Artest did, for a month off to promote an album his record company produced and to rest from the grueling promotional duties. Instead, he viewed Artest's request with a mix of chagrin and amusement.
"That was one of the all-timers right there," Van Gundy said. "That story will live forever in NBA folklore. But it's not funny for our league. The craziness you see right now, some of the stories. There's a certain part of compassion that goes into coaching for certain things. I'm not sure promoting an album would be one that would inspire a great deal of compassion."
About as close as Van Gundy has come to a player requesting time away from the team was last season when Steve Francis skipped a flight with plans to attend the Super Bowl.
"Even that, you can't even compare missing a flight to wanting a month off."
Press row view
Jeff Van Gundy said there was no moral victory in coming close without Tracy McGrady. He took nothing positive from the loss. But he might have felt some solace — though probably not — had the Timberwolves been so magnificent and the Rockets nearly matched their excellence. Instead, Minnesota was good, but not spectacular, and the Rockets lost by failing in the areas that had nothing to do with McGrady's absence. They started slowly and were error prone, failing to grab the last-minute rebound in a one-point game.
Inside the numbers
The Rockets matched their season high with 24 assists. ... After making 13 of 19 shots in the first quarter, Minnesota made 20 of 53 the rest of the game. ... The Rockets' 33 rebounds and one blocked shot were their fewest this season.
Did you know
Making 70 percent of his 3-pointers this season, Bostjan Nachbar (3-for-4 on Thursday) is second in the NBA to Gordan Giricek (80 percent) in 3-point shooting.

 

i can't believe the game came down to a ref call. so weak.

 

Nap. The only reason we lost is due to the lack of shots Boki got. If we can get Boki 15+ shots a game, we'll rule the league! The man is ranked 2nd in the entire league with 70%+ 3pt shooting, how can you overlook that?

 

We need to get Boki more shots. I don't even remember Boki taking a 3-pointer in the 2nd half.

I'm not blaming this loss on anyone, I actually thought we played a great game. But JVG needs to feed Boki some more instead of Jimmy Jackson dribbling around and shooting fadeaways.

Free Boki!

 

Mo Taylor hit 2 threes? Did they look good? I missed the game.

 

Yes, they looked good. One was a designed play, Mo was left open. Another one he shot with clock winding down.

 

Now... if you could somehow get Mo to grab a rebound you would have an all-star.

 

oh man - I missed the videos. Can anyone re-up them?

 

heh...VEngeance had to take them offline cause of the amount of traffic that got sent his way....

evidently....the links got spread overseas...if you ask him real nice...he may pu tthem back up...or not..I cant speak directly for him.

Ill have them in my video gallery at a later time(soon i hope)