http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2888347 Nov. 7, 2004, 1:38AM Timing perfect for Yao, Ward Rockets keep Kings within range to set up successful charge in OT By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Tracy McGrady did not want to say it. He fought the urge to feel it. But he had been waiting to feel this way for so long, for too long. He didn't fight that hard. This was not what brought him to Houston, but it was the most tangible evidence that it is all here within his grasp. McGrady had felt himself carry the Rockets when he had to. He watched as the Rockets' defense tested one of the NBA's best offenses. And most of all, he saw Yao Ming dominate the way he had yearned to see a center on his team dominate. Playing their fourth game in five nights to open the season, the Rockets were at times running on fumes but saw enough in an exhilarating, 104-101 overtime win over the Kings on Saturday to believe there would be more games like it. Finally, they did not have to go on blind faith. "I told him, 'That's the Yao I need to see,' " McGrady said after the home opener, a sellout for 18,003 fans at Toyota Center. "I need to see that every night, every single night. That's the Yao I need to see. If he can play like that every night, we're going to be a hell of a team. That's what I've been missing: a guy that can dominate on the post like that and open it up on the perimeter for me." With that in mind, McGrady knew he saw more than one fun win. "It's pretty much bigger than that," McGrady said, and that sentiment spread around the locker room. Yao can do that to a team the way few players can. After averaging 10.3 points in the Rockets' first three games, he scored 33 and had 12 rebounds. But more than that, he carried the 2-2 Rockets down the stretch, scoring 12 fourth-quarter points to help complete their comeback from a 15-point deficit and loudly announce his revival — at least for the night. "I felt really good, and I think our team chemistry was really good," Yao said. "We just kept on fighting because we didn't want to lose our home opener." The fight, not surprisingly, impressed coach Jeff Van Gundy most. "I don't think anyone should discount the four (in) five nights to find the will to win that game," Van Gundy said. "We could have easily given in. I think it says a lot about our guys, and I like their fight." But it seemed they needed to see Yao be Yao. Before the game, Juwan Howard turned to the bench and said, "Yao is going to dominate." "We got on Tracy's back to get back in the game," Rockets forward Maurice Taylor said. "From that point on, we just rode Yao. Yao took it home from there. It was great to see. He's a guy that can dominate, that you can't guard with one guy, that rebounds and scores at will. That's the Yao I think everyone was waiting to see." The Kings (0-3) had surged back from a horrible shooting start to lead by as much as 15. But McGrady, who had 23 points and 13 rebounds, drained consecutive 3-pointers, and the Rockets made their move. The Rockets did not complete their comeback until Yao took over in the fourth. They removed the last bits of the Kings' lead when Tyronn Lue, playing in a backcourt with Charlie Ward for much of the night, sent a pass ahead to Taylor for a slam that tied the game at 89 with three minutes left. In the last minute, the Rockets got the stops they needed to shoot for the win. But with the game tied, McGrady was unable to get loose enough to get Yao the ball. On one possession, he was forced to dump it to Taylor, who didn't have enough time to get off a shot over Chris Webber. On the last possession of regulation, McGrady slipped, then dropped a pass to Lue, whose shot at the buzzer missed. Needing one more shooter much of the night, the Rockets found him once in overtime. With the Rockets trailing by two, Taylor found Ward in the corner for a 3-pointer that gave the Rockets the lead for good. On the next possession, when the Kings swarmed around Yao, he passed to Ward at the top of the key for another 3 and a five-point lead. The Rockets missed four of six free throws in the last half-minute to allow the Kings to remain in range. But Yao stepped up to force Webber to miss on a drive, and Mike Bibby, who had 31 points to lead the Kings, missed a 3 with 5.3 seconds left. And the Rockets decided they had seen enough to see how it could work with McGrady and Yao playing together. "It's coming," McGrady said. "It's too premature to let this dictate how many wins we're going to have in the regular season, but it is coming. The main thing is we have to buckle down on the defensive end. "The offense is going to go. I can score. Yao can score. And we have guys who can knock down shots. We get that defense down, we're going to be tough." jonathan.feigen@chron.com Rockets summary Not the same old story Being the oldest team in the NBA, with an average age of 29.16, one of the Rockets' strengths last season could become a weakness. The Rockets, with a comparatively young team, went 12-7 on the second night of back-to-backs last season. "Last year, we were a very good back-to-back team because we were younger. We had two guys with unbelievable energy level on back-to-back nights in (Steve) Francis and (Cuttino) Mobley," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "They actually played better on back-to-back nights than first games and the records (9-10 on the first night) really bore that out. "That is a concern. We knew that. But we're going to try to figure that out. We have looked )(worn out). Even some of our younger ones have. Experience is only an advantage if it translates into good results." Getting it together While the Rockets are among the most changed teams, with nine new players on the roster, the Kings remain one of the league's most stable. The departure of Vlade Divac represented a major change for Sacramento, but all five starters and sixth man Bobby Jackson return with four of the top six players going into at least their fourth season together. "They have really good chemistry because they have the same group of guys for almost four years," Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo said. "I think we're getting there as a group. Our chemistry is getting better. I think we've shown good, positive signs and will more today, and tomorrow and the next day if we keep working hard." The Kings' style fits their skills so well that it is difficult to tell where the skills end and the chemistry begins. "It all goes together," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "When you have bigs that can shoot and pass like they do, it opens up the basket area. And then they have the premier perimeter cutters in (Peja) Stojakovic, (Mike) Bibby and Bobby Jackson. "I think you have to give Rick Adelman a lot of credit in that he plays directly to everybody's strengths there. You could take other teams and do that same stuff and score 60." Scheduling conflict As much as Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy has been unwilling to complain about the schedule — the Rockets are the only team to begin with four games in five nights and only the Rockets, Sacramento and Atlanta opened with a three-game trip — allowed that it was "interesting" Saturday. "It's interesting that Sacramento and us were sent over to China and both were sent on the road," Van Gundy said. "I don't think that was very equitable scheduling, for Sacramento for sure." Press row view Few teams will allow Yao Ming so many touches without double teams as did the Kings. The timing for the Rockets and their previously struggling center could not have been better. Yao made 13 of 20 shots. The key for Yao is to be as efficient when teams surround him and allow him fewer good looks at the basket. He does not have to score 33 to be effective, but now that he has gone for 33, he might be ready to be himself against either defensive style. Inside the numbers Yao Ming's 33 points were the most for any Rockets player this season, as were Tracy McGrady's 13 rebounds. Both had double doubles, the first for the Rockets this season. ... Charlie Ward's 14 points were a season high. ... The Kings are 0-3 for the first time since the 1997-98 season. ... The win snapped the Rockets' five-game losing streak to Sacramento.
