CHRON: TMAC's miracle cure

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6109611.html

PHOENIX — All the Rockets needed was a miracle cure. They got several.

For two days in Phoenix, Tracy McGrady could not practice and on the third, the Rockets wondered if he could play at all. They had begun to ponder whether McGrady’s lost weekend in Los Angeles, in which he made one of 16 shots and totaled five points, was an indication they might need to shut him down long enough for his left knee to heal.

The team as a whole was as badly battered, coming off a humiliating rout against the Lakers.

McGrady, however, visited the doctor in the morning and felt “pretty dag-gone good.” The Rockets as a whole went through a similar recovery, going from the depth of the blowout loss to the Lakers to a 94-82 victory over the Phoenix Suns at U.S. Airways Center on Wednesday night.

“I went to the doctor this morning and I felt pretty good after I saw him,” McGrady said. “They were talking about it because I was struggling. After I played those 45 minutes in Portland, I was declining. But I felt pretty good today.”

McGrady scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half, but the Rockets had dramatically turned around many parts of their play, most especially defensively.

While Yao Ming (17 points and 13 rebounds) played Shaquille O’Neal (18 and 13) to a standoff, the Rockets’ defense shut down a Suns team that had been the best-shooting squad in the NBA and the second-highest scoring.

Allowing 99.5 points in their previous four games, the Rockets held the Suns to 21 points shy of their season average on 37.6 percent shooting. They scored just four fast-break points.

“It was a terrific win for us after the other night in L.A.,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “Coming back, we really controlled the tempo well the whole game, made shots and for the most part ... we contained them pretty good.

“I think the two days of practice helped us as far as what we wanted to accomplish. We moved the ball better and we got back defensively and followed the game defensively. We wanted to keep them out of the paint and keep Stoudemire from getting to the rim or getting to the foul line.”

The Rockets even overcame the shooting troubles of their starting forwards, with Ron Artest making one of 12 shots and Louis Scola one of six. Their guards — McGrady, Aaron Brooks and Rafer Alston — combined to make 26 of 42 shots, with Brooks following his 20-point night against the Lakers with 19 against the Suns.

The Rockets had spent the third quarter pulling away, with McGrady hitting six of nine shots, scoring 15 points and giving the Rockets a 19-point lead with a 3-pointer that set off a melee of seven technical fouls and two ejections.

The problems started when the Suns’ Matt Barnes belted Rafer Alston while Alston set a screen for McGrady. That inspired Alston to go back at Barnes. That exchange was worth a technical foul each, and they both picked up their second technical fouls with the punchless fight that followed. The loss of Alston could have been particularly damaging, with Alston making seven of 11 shots to score 15 points in his 27 minutes.

“He took a cheap shot at me basically,” Alston said. “I’m trying to set a screen for Tracy, and he just took a cheap shot at me. Look at the replay, the ref is standing right there watching it. It’s a dirty play by him. He raises his arm. Good thing he didn’t connect to my face and knock some teeth out.

“I don’t know if he was frustrated by his game or their game. There was no call for that, no call for the reaction, really. Sometimes, you just react.”

It could have been worse, however, for both teams. McGrady, Nash and O’Neal also got involved and also got technical fouls, though each stopped before also getting an early exit.

Nash even followed that by banking in a running 3 from midcourt, but it came a tick too late, sending the game to the fourth quarter with the Rockets holding a 19-point lead.

When the second half began, every time McGrady scored, he gave the Rockets what had been their largest lead, first with a jumper to a nine-point lead to start the half, then with a pull-up 3 on the break for a 10-point lead and then hit another 3-pointer to put the Rockets up by 12.

“My guys were giving me the ball,” McGrady said. “We were moving the ball. We were getting it in the right spots and they kept coming back to me.”

The Suns never challenged again, as the Rockets bounced back from a very tough loss to win easily.

We needed this just to prove to ourselves if we play hard for the whole game, we give ourselves a great chance to win,” Rockets forward Chuck Hayes said.

could this doctor be on par with the same doctor? the back doctor has stopped his back spasms for the most part. will this doctor help his knee for the most part? let's see how it pans out.

this was the first game he removed the tape from his knee.

 

i still have hopes that we get the #2 seed (lakers just seem to be too good right now while we're still learning).

facing a team like denver, portland, dallas. just get the highest seed possible, play the easiest team that we can get and get this monkey off of our back.