McGrady, Alston Lead Charge As Rockets Win Second Straight, Defeat Cleveland 90-81 By Dennis L. Silva, II. 1.5.06 Rockets fans have a good idea what the outcome of any given Rockets game will be if they track the team’s offensive output. The Rockets are 10-2 when scoring 90+ points, and a grotesque 1-16 when they don’t. So when the Rockets hit the ninety point mark when Rafer Alston nailed two free throws with under a minute remaining in the game, Rockets loyalists breathed a collective sigh of relief. Despite a courageous effort from superhuman LeBron James, Cleveland failed to complete a late rally, and bowed to Houston 90-81 with a crowd of 18,019 in attendance at Quicken Loans Arena. As has been the case in the majority, if not all of their victories, Houston raced out to a healthy start, leading 12-9 midway through the first quarter. The Rockets’ defensive game plan was simple: allow Cleveland to shoot threes (Cleveland was 2-16 from three-point range in the first half), and pack the lane to prohibit easy inside scores for a team that ranked in the NBA’s top three in points in the paint. The Cavs happily obliged, particularly Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall, who shot a combined 0-6 from downtown in the period. Houston forced five early turnovers, and McGrady obliterated Cleveland’s screen-and-roll defense, scoring 13 points in the quarter. The Rockets led 24-18 at the end of one. The Cavaliers closed to within two midway through the second period as Houston allowed an abundance of second-chance opportunities. But any hopes of Cleveland taking a lead were defused when McGrady (23 points, 3 assists in the first half) scored four points, Luther Head nailed a trey, and Alston (5 points, 4 steals) had two key takeaways while playing the passing lanes. That surge led to an 11-0 Houston scoring spree, 10 of which came from McGrady, and when Stromile Swift (6 points, four rebounds) scored on a jump-hook with just seconds remaining, the Rockets’ halftime advantage was 49-35. Houston’s edge ballooned to 59-42 with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter. Alston nailed a three-pointer, Juwan Howard scored on a baseline 15-footer, and McGrady flew above the clouds to score on an alley-oop pass from Alston. Unfortunately, Houston had no answer for LeBron James, who scored 16 points in the period on a myriad of baseline fadeaways over hopeless defenders. With a deficit as high as 17, James hit consecutive three-pointers late in the period to close Cleveland’s gap to 71-60 heading into the final twelve minutes. Cleveland kept up their strong play early in the fourth, and when Marshall hit his first three-pointer of the game (in ten attempts), the Cavs had closed to within four, 69-73, on behalf of a 9-2 run. The Rockets maintained their poise and composure as Alston (18 points, 6 assists, 0 turnovers) hit a runner in the lane, Howard nailed another long jumper, and McGrady (34 points, five rebounds, five assists) scored on a difficult 22-footer to put Houston back up by ten. Cleveland made another furious rally to close to within three, but Houston answered yet again, outscoring the Cavs 7-2 in the last few minutes to secure the victory, 90-81. The victory was a pleasing one for Houston, as they were facing a Cleveland team that had won eight of their previous nine games. The Rockets came in with a solid game plan and executed it to perfection, abusing Cleveland’s slower bigs and smaller guards with their pick-and-roll action, and forcing the Cavs to shoot ill-advised long-range jumpers (7-29 from downtown). The Rockets face the Raptors tomorrow at 6 p.m central time in the last game of their three-game road trip. ROCKETS RECAP · Coming into the game, James had averaged 12.5 points against Houston while shooting 30%. Tonight, he compiled 32 points on 13-19 shooting. · Juwan Howard finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. · Jon Barry made his return to the court after missing 14 of his previous 15 games with a calf strain. Barry went 0-2 and had one steal in 4 minutes. · Cleveland shot 8-18 from the free-throw line. · Damon Jones, the self-proclaimed “best shooter in the world”, shot 1-7 from the floor, all three-point attempts. http://www.nba.com/games/20060105/HOUCLE/boxscore.html
