[Chron] McGrady injured as Rockets slip by Grizzlies

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2893494

Howard fills void when injury sidelines star; Yao finds foul trouble
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Houston 90,
Memphis 87
FINAL

Jeff Van Gundy preached, as he so often has, that the Rockets could make up for a multitude of issues with defense. Too much age, too little quickness. It did not matter. Defense would be their deodorant.
He did not plan, however, to have to get by without Tracy McGrady.

Then word came that for all his pleading, McGrady would be unable to continue because of a right hip strain. The Rockets trailed by two points. The Memphis Grizzlies had shot better than any team had against the Rockets this season.

But the Rockets clamped down defensively in the second half to rally to a 90-87 victory Tuesday night at Toyota Center.

After the Grizzlies made 19 of 35 shots in the first half, they connected on just eight of 31 in the second half. They scored 13 fast-break points in the first half, just three the rest of the game.

With Juwan Howard coming off the bench to score 20 points, the Rockets built a nine-point lead, then held on through the final seconds to get the win.

Having lost McGrady, the Rockets lost Yao Ming as well when he fouled out with 1:38 remaining.

But no matter what parts slipped away, there was always defense.

Even when the game was on the line and the Rockets missed three of the best looks they could ever hope to find -- open jumpers by Jim Jackson, Maurice Taylor and Charlie Ward -- they were able to keep the Grizzlies from scoring.

Taylor drew a charge on Jason Williams with 52.9 seconds remaining. Grizzlies center Stromile Swift sank one free throw to cut the lead to three with 29.3 seconds left and Memphis coach Hubie Brown opted to allow the Rockets to run down the clock rather than foul.

Tyronn Lue had a runner clang out with five seconds to play.

But rather than take a chance on a Memphis trey and overtime, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy had Taylor immediately foul Pau Gasol when he caught the inbounds pass. Gasol made only his second attempt, banking it in when he tried to miss.

The Grizzlies fouled Bostjan Nachbar with 3.6 seconds left, and he missed his first attempt, allowing the Grizzlies to remain within one shot. But all they had time to get was a Shane Battier runner from 45 feet that caught the rim, but clanged away.

The Rockets learned that McGrady's powers of persuasion might be as honed as his shooting touch.

But after the third quarter, McGrady lost the argument and went sent to the locker room for the night with a right hip strain.

McGrady and Rockets trainer Keith Jones had their own private talk show just before the second half would begin and with each time out.

McGrady had talked his way back into the game in the second half, but he was limping badly, especially after colliding with Battier just 1:27 into the second half.

But by the end of the third quarter, a few minutes on the bench were enough to end his night.

McGrady played 29 minutes, leaving the court 1:22 before halftime, and for the night, with 1:19 left in the third quarter. He scored 12 points, with seven assists and six rebounds.

Moments later, the winless Grizzlies led by five points. But the Rockets were within two heading into the fourth quarter and back in a tie, 72-72, when Howard began the quarter with a jumper.

Down two with seven minutes left, the Rockets put together their longest run of the game, with Howard nailing two free throws and tipping in a miss before Ward drained a 3-pointer for an 83-78 lead.

The Rockets had trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half and considering the fast-break layups they allowed, might have been fortunate to have remain that close. They cut that deficit to two, and trailed by just four at halftime.

The Rockets committed nine turnovers in the first half as the Grizzlies bolted to 13 fast-break points. Making 38.4 percent of their shots in the season's first three games, the Grizzlies made 54.3 percent in the half.

Williams and Bonzi Wells, who combined to make seven of 20 shots against the Rockets last week, made seven of 10 in Tuesday's first half. But the Rockets managed a few minutes without turnovers, and that was enough to climb back within 51-47 at halftime.

But if they knew what had to be done to make up that difference -- get back defensively and take care of the ball -- they did not know whether McGrady could go, or for how long, or what they could do without him.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rockets Summary
Sura nears return
Rockets guard Bob Sura is scheduled to fly to Los Angeles today to be examined by his physician, Dr. Robert Watkins, with the hope he will be cleared to begin unrestricted practices.


Sura underwent back surgery in October to repair a herniated disk. He began limited shooting drills about two weeks ago.

"I'm going to see the doctor Wednesday morning," Sura said. "Hopefully, he'll give me the clearance to start doing a little bit of practice and start working my way back to the team. I've been doing hard drills for 10 days or so. I feel pretty good."

Sura would need time to test the back, get in game shape and be ready to step into the Rockets' system. But if cleared today, he likely would be ready to play sooner than the mid-December return originally scheduled.

"It's not quicker than I thought, but it's quicker than the medical people thought," Sura, 31, said. "I really worked hard to rehab. I knew it wasn't going to take me 10, 12 weeks. I knew I was going to rehab and get back as soon as possible.

"Then it's just a matter of getting back in the groove, start playing basketball. New team, new offense, get to practicing well, then getting back to playing. It's kind of hard being on the outside with a new team.

"Some areas I feel I can help with, with my toughness, my defense, my ability to get to the basket and get to the free-throw line. I think we've been missing a guy who can create off the dribble, which I'm able to do. We have two great scorers, but you also need someone who can create for other people. That's something I can help us with."


Offensive focus
In the Rockets' previous meeting with Memphis, with Grizzlies centers denying Yao Ming the ball inside with fronting defenses, Yao took just seven shots, making three.

A night later, with the Kings playing behind Yao, he made 13 of 20 shots and scored 33 points.

The Rockets will not expect Yao to score the same against any defense, but Yao said he and his teammates need to improve against defenses twisted to deny him the ball.

"I think that's a lesson I need to learn," Yao said. "I think it's a good lesson coming. The moment (to deliver the pass) is very short, maybe a half-second. Guys have to be ready for that moment, and for me, I have to be ready for the ball. The last game, T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) made a lot of nice passes to me. I had some I (caught). But I have to do better. We know the way. We have to do better."

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said offensive statistics do not necessarily reflect performance because they do not take an opponents' tactics into account. But he said the Rockets will need to improve against those defenses.

"You can't judge effectiveness by statistics," Van Gundy said. "Offense in this league is as much about what the defense takes away from you. Defense can take away any player in this league. It's a matter of how far they want to do that.

"They (the Grizzlies) don't go overboard. They do a good job. We need to improve, and it was sufficient when you get the right results. It's on everybody really, coaches, players, him, yet we don't want to get where we're just focusing on him."

-- JONATHAN FEIGEN