Rockets Hand Knicks 9th Straight Loss As McGrady Struggles By DENNIS L. SILVA, II. Tracy McGrady shot a miserable 3-20 from the floor. And the Rockets won. McGrady scored only seven points and had more turnovers than free throw attempts. And the Rockets won. Consider this an aberration because it is unlikely that Rockets fans will ever see a game such as this. The Rockets put the defensive clamps on the New York Knicks Sunday night and used the inside-outside trio of David Wesley, Rafer Alston and Yao Ming to pull out a grotesque 90-83 victory before a crowd of 13,975 at the Toyota Center. The Rockets had yet another rough beginning Sunday as the Knicks were intent on establishing center Eddy Curry on the blocks. Curry spun around Yao Ming each and every way during the first period, scoring eight points in the quarter. However, New York could never quite gain a sizeable lead as Wesley (15 points, 4-7 3-pointers)drained two early 3-pointers from the right corner as both teams were knotted at 22 points apiece heading into the second period. Just fifteen seconds into the quarter, McGrady nailed his first field goal of the game on a midrange jump shot. Houston’s lead grew to 31-26 following Alston’s (14 points, 7 assists) wondrous fake behind-the-back pass that resulted in an easy lay-in. From that point on, the quarter became a contest of free-throws. Houston held New York 6 ½ minutes without a field goal but never could gain a true advantage as the Knicks stayed in reasonable distance by hitting their free throws (24-33 for the game). A combined 53 fouls were whistled as play was stopped on numerous occasions, preventing any opportunity for an offensive flow to be had by either team. Ahead by one point after halftime, the Rockets finally were able to put together a considerable scoring run. Houston went on an 11-1 spree to take a 58-47 lead early in the third period. McGrady, still having difficulty with his explosion and shot-making, became a second point guard on the floor for the Rockets. McGrady (6 assists)set up Yao (24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks) for a 3-point play on a dunk, and dished to Wesley for his fourth triple of the game from the left corner. New York cut its deficit to six in the fourth quarter but never could answer the traps and aggressiveness of Houston’s defense. The Rockets forced 15 Knicks turnovers and held them to 38% shooting. Combine that with the play of Stromile Swift (9 points, 3 rebounds) off the bench, and New York was headed for their ninth consecutive loss. The Rockets will face the Clippers in LA Tuesday before meeting the Suns for a Thursday appointment on TNT. ROCKETS RECAP · A combined five transition points were scored in the game. · The Knicks outrebounded Houston 45-38. · Quentin Richardson led the Knicks with 19 points. · The Rockets shot 27-35 from the free-throw line, bringing the total attempts in the game to 68. · The Rockets shot 7-16 (41%) from 3-point range. http://www.nba.com/games/20060212/NYKHOU/boxscore.html
