Chron: So this is what Van Gundy was talking about all week....

So this is what Van Gundy was talking about all week
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
RESOURCES



You knew these Rockets were buried in there somewhere, didn't you?

You knew because you'd seen glimpses. You'd seen stretches when 3-pointers fell like rain, when Steve Francis could have passed for the NBA's best player and when all the various pieces fit so nicely.

You hadn't seen these Rockets often, but you knew they occasionally existed.

You'd seen all those other nights, too. You'd seen nights when they seemed nonchalant about the whole thing. You'd seen nights when they were careless, when they refused to respond to an opponent who pushed them.

You'd seen some of both these Rockets teams in those two losses in Los Angeles. You'd seen times when they looked like the better team, but amid the defensive lapses and missed shots, you figured you knew how it was going to end.

Well, maybe not.

After three days of being challenged by their coach and taunted by the media, when they realized that virtually no one expected anything out of them, the Rockets responded magnificently in a 102-91 victory over the Lakers on Friday.

A team that so often talks the talk without walking the walk showed another side of itself.

A sellout crowd of 18,226 had the Toyota Center rocking with this city's first home playoff game in five years, and the Rockets responded.

A team that has had its heart doubted so often showed both heart and toughness. A team that sometimes seemed to collapse under pressure made a string of clutch shots. A team that has failed to do some of the most basic things beat the Lakers in almost every important category.

If you're one of those people who wanted to buy Steve Francis a ticket out of town, store this game in your memory.

He still may be your Franchise.

On the best night of his five-year NBA career, he scored 27 points and had nine rebounds, seven assists and just three turnovers in 43 minutes.

He was the best player on the floor in a game that was supposed to feature the best player on earth-Kobe Bryant.

Bryant was not.

The Lakers once more hoped Bryant's magic would rescue them in the second half, and for once, there was no magic.

Bryant missed 13 of his 20 shots, thanks, in part, to a smothering defensive effort by Cuttino Mobley.

Francis set a tone early in the game by blowing past Gary Payton for a layup, then ended the first quarter with the

3-pointer that gave the Rockets a 29-23 lead.

The Rockets never lost control after that and went 9-for-16 on 3-pointers and shot 48 percent from the field. The Rockets had gone 5-for-22 from 3-point land in Los Angeles.

Maurice Taylor, Yao Ming and Mobley all had big nights, and each time the Lakers got close in the second half, the Rockets made a play.

When the Lakers got within six points late in the third, Mobley hit a pair of jumpers.

When they got within seven in the fourth quarter, Yao grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. Seconds later, Taylor hit a jumper to stretch the lead back to 11.

It was the Lakers turn to disappear. O'Neal took two shots and had no rebounds in the final 19 minutes of the first half.

With Bryant suddenly human, no one else filled the gap.

So a best-of-seven series that seemed headed for a quick finish now seems infinitely more interesting.

The Lakers lead 2-1 and still have home-court advantage. But the Rockets can get the attention of the entire league with a victory in Game 4 on Sunday.

Now, we see how the Laker soap opera plays out. In a season when almost everyone in their locker room has quarreled with almost everyone else, we'll find out if those fissures can be worsened by a playoff loss.

If the Rockets extend the series, they'll spend the offseason remembering how close they came.

If Bryant's shot had hit the rim instead of O'Neal's at the end of Game 1, the Rockets might lead, 2-1.

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said before the game he was interested in seeing how his team responded, and he emphasized that winning the game was only part of the equation.

He wanted to see how his players answered as the playoff-tested Lakers closed in for the kill.

He could not have been happier with the answer. He got a look at the team he'd seen only in spurts during the season, but it was the team he hoped was there.


http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2528109

 

LOL! I love watching the damn journalists eat their words!

I can't wait to see what the guys have to say at ESPN when we win on sunday too.