[Chron] Rockets refuse to lose

Rockets refuse to lose

McGrady scores 37 points to push series to Game 7
19-0 run in fourth quarter turns tight contest into rout
By JONATHAN FEIGEN


The arena exploded with the roars of throats shouted raw, until even the thoughts of the precarious and familiar position in which the Rockets had put themselves could not be heard.

There they were, a sudden fourth-quarter roll Thursday night having put the Rockets right back where they had been in the fourth quarter of both Toyota Center playoff games.

But from that same precipice from which they twice cracked, the Rockets took off in their most spectacular run of the series, flying through a 19-0 outburst to a 101-83 rout of the Mavericks to force Game 7 Saturday night in Dallas. And not only did they survive, they flourished precisely at the point of the game in which they previously had fallen apart to put themselves in their sticky, must-win position.

"It was definitely said," Rockets forward Tracy McGrady said after scoring 37 points, with eight rebounds and seven assists. "Jon Barry mentioned it out on the basketball court, that we've been in that situation before and we didn't want any letdowns. We played like we were down. We kept attacking, attacking. We were in attack mode throughout the whole fourth quarter."

The Rockets kept coming, with Mike James and Barry providing an irreplaceable jolt of scoring.

Ryan Bowen provided a crucial first-half lift, coming off the bench to score seven points, but more important, to defend Dirk Nowitzki, allowing McGrady to slide over to Jerry Stackhouse when Stackhouse had made his first six shots. And Dikembe Mutombo had by far his best game of the postseason to send the Rockets rolling into Dallas.

"We deserve to be there," Barry said. "We believe that. It's going to be a hell of a, hell of a game."

The Rockets hit the Mavericks with the first rout of the series, taking off with a sudden offensive burst and a stretch of shutdown defense. The Mavericks were unable to make a shot in the final 7:20 of the game, missing their last 17 attempts.

"Defense," McGrady said of the difference between Thursday's fourth quarter and the fourth quarters of Games 3 and 4 that had betrayed the Rockets. "We really buckled down on the defensive end, made those guys take a lot of tough shots, made them take a lot of shots from the outside and we had the big dog (Mutombo) down there tonight protecting the house. Dikembe was unbelievable."

In his 18 minutes in relief of Yao Ming, Mutombo had 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, all in the fourth quarter. But there was a lot of "unbelievable" to go around.

Barry scored 12 fourth-quarter points, hitting consecutive 3-pointers to put the Rockets in front 82-72 and inspiring his warning.

"They're a resilient team," Barry said. "They're very good, but so are we. I just said, 'You know what, we've been here. It's not going to happen this time. We have to lock down.'

"And I believe they made a run right away."

The Mavericks rallied right back with Stackhouse, who had 21 points to lead Dallas, scoring twice and Nowitzki draining a 3-pointer in an 8-0 Dallas run.

The Rockets answered with a James drive and a McGrady 3-pointer that put them back to almost precisely the point at which they cracked in the previous fourth quarters in Houston.

The Rockets led 88-82 in those games, and were up 87-80 with six minutes left Thursday.

But from that moment on, the Rockets took off in a spectacular run to Game 7.

McGrady hit a jumper and Barry put in a pair of free throws. But the rout was on after Mutombo came over to block a Jason Terry drive, Mutombo's second consecutive block. While Mutombo's finger was still wagging, McGrady took a David Wesley pass and let fly.

McGrady had made 4 of 15 shots in the fourth quarters of the Rockets' three consecutive losses. But when he nailed his 3-pointer, he had made four of his first five shots in the fourth quarter Thursday and the Rockets held a 94-80 lead.

James added four free throws and a driving jumper to a three-point play to complete the run that blew the game open.

James finished with 22 points in 28 minutes off the bench, with Barry adding 14.

But more than scoring, the Rockets defended throughout the game � holding Dallas to 36 percent shooting, including a 5-for-22 night for Nowitzki � as if their season depended on it.

The Rockets did a lot of things as if keenly aware of what was at stake. In the first half alone, the Rockets had gone from a 10-point deficit to a 10-point lead, shot 61.9 percent in the second quarter, and Yao had jumped to his feet, appearing for the first time in his career as if he wanted to avenge a hard foul.

Yao never got to Erick Dampier. Though after holding his angry big man back, McGrady was beaming, as if he knew the Rockets were ready to fight to survive.

More than survive, they beat their recent fourth-quarter demons, and flourished.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com
Rockets Summary

Mutombo's guarantee
Before Game 6, somebody finally declared a winner.

The first-round series was a Mavericks victory away from being over at Thursday morning's shootaround, but Dikembe Mutombo offered up a guarantee the Rockets would advance to play Phoenix in the second round.

Mutombo was asked about his lack of finger-wagging against Dallas when he responded by saying that would change against the Phoenix Suns.

"Man, when you're guarding all those little guys, they are moving you around and putting out pick-and-rolls and having different help, (blocks are) hard to get," Mutombo said. "But when we play Phoenix, it's going to be a lot different. When we play Phoenix, I believe we are going to make it happen.

"We're going to win tonight, and we're going to go to Dallas and give our best and win it."

Clich�s are us
Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was asked about the Rockets' heading into Game 6 with "their back against the wall."

"Yeah," Van Gundy said, "I think we're a cornered animal.

"Backs to the wall. Jeez, Louise."

Crunch time
In the regular season, the Rockets went 13-7 in games decided by four points or fewer. But after winning Game 2 113-111, the Rockets lost consecutive games by four points and Game 5 by three, hurting themselves with failings they did not have down the stretch during the season.

"We have been struggling in the fourth quarter," Tracy McGrady said before Thursday's game. "I think we have to do a better job taking care of the ball, better job executing offensively and buckling down on the defensive end, and having more energy on both ends."

Howard missed
As damaging as the Rockets' loss of Juwan Howard always promised to be, his absence because of a viral heart condition has been more conspicuous against the Mavs with the Rockets searching for forwards and matchups against Dirk Nowitzki.

"He would have added another scorer, another rebounder, another presence on both ends for us," Rockets forward Tracy McGrady said. "It helps to have a guy that knows how to play the game, is very smart, adds veteran leadership that we really miss. That was a tough loss."

Howard is expected to be back next season. But Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said every team goes through injuries and that missing Howard could not be considered an excuse.

"Juwan was having a tremendous last three months," Van Gundy said. "It was unfortunate for him; then it turned scary with the heart thing. We're glad it turned out better than we originally thought when it first came about. That being said, every team goes through these things."

A little lax
Guard Jon Barry said the Rockets' defensive troubles since their Game 1 win in Dallas were in part because they did not study as hard on off days since, leading to key mistakes.

"Probably Game 1 was our best game," Barry said. "We played very well defensively. We were more in tune to what they wanted to do. We studied for two days before the series started. I think after the first two, we stopped studying. Your work is never done until after the series is over. After the first two, I think we got a little lax on things they like to do and things we wanted to take away. I think it's come down to our inability to stop them.

"There's three points difference in the series (going into Thursday's Game 6). Those three games could have gone either way. We didn't get any of them."

But Jeff Van Gundy said he has not been unhappy with his team's preparation.

"There's been some slippage," Van Gundy said. "There's always some slippage. But my happiness with the group has been consistent."

Press row view
It had to come to this. Game 7 seems fitting for the best series of the playoffs so far.

From Jeff Van Gundy's controversial comments to Avery Johns on's postgame media meltdown Thursday, from Tracy McGrady's magnificence to the Mavericks' wealth of phenomenal talents, the series has been the NBA's richest and most intriguing.

However it ends, it will become a series to be remembered. And tough to top.

Inside the numbers
6 � Tracy McGrady's 3-pointers, a career playoff high.

37 � McGrady's points, the most by any player in the series.

9 � 3-pointers made by the Rockets in 17 tries, their best 3-point shooting of the series.

45 � Rockets' points off the bench.

24 � Rockets' wins in 44 elimination games.

Did you know?
The Rockets are 5-1 all-time in Game 7s.

JONATHAN FEIGEN and MEGAN MANFULL