[CHRON] Rockets laugh all the way to victory

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4382259.html

Dec. 6, 2006, 12:13AM
Rockets laugh all the way to victory
High-powered Warriors unable to stand in way


By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle


They watched the dancers. They talked to fans. Juwan Howard and Rafer Alston literally fell over each other laughing while watching one of the timeout videos on their way back to the court.

If the Rockets knew how enjoyable these routs could be, they might have finished them off early more often. But then, they had a head start Tuesday, whipping the Golden State Warriors for all but the time it took for the opening tip to reach Yao Ming's right hand.

Soon after, the Rockets began roaring through the Warriors' interpretation of defense before settling for a 118-90 blowout in which they scored more points than in any game since they had 123 on Jan. 3 last season at Washington, building a larger lead, 33 points, than in any game this season. And they had a grand time doing it.

"The Rockets are for real," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "We had no answer for anything they did. I was going to attack Houston in the open court and spread their defense, and it blew up in my face."

He saw the Rockets, if not their best, at close to it. Yao Ming took the life from the Warriors in the first half. Tracy McGrady blasted them in the second half. McGrady seemed to recapture then showcase more of his athletic brilliance than in any game this season.

"He looked dominant," Yao said. "He played like you saw Tracy the last two years, playing against the Mavericks in the playoffs, against the Spurs in that last 35 seconds.

"I think Dikembe (Mutombo) helped him with the elbow. It knocked him awake."

McGrady, in his first game since Saturday's concussion, seemed so energized, Jeff Van Gundy might have been tempted to order Mutombo elbows up and down the bench.

"He said that?" McGrady said later, laughing along with Yao. "He's a jokester, our undercover jokester. I knew he was gonna say something slick."

Yet for all the Rockets did well offensively, Yao hit upon the development that could be most important.

With the game rushing toward irrevocable rout, McGrady tested his limits as he has not all season. He tried a ridiculous degree-of-difficulty dunk (that came up short) then finished a pair of cuts to the basket with violent slams. He added a slick fast break, finished high above the rim with his left hand.

"I have a feeling that I am as explosive as I was before," McGrady, who had 31 points and seven assists in his 34 minutes, said. "At times, I surprised myself a little bit with some of the things I did."

Yao took the entire fourth quarter off. McGrady rested for almost all of it. But by then, they clearly were not needed. By the end of the third quarter, the Rockets not only led 93-68, they had scored more points than in any of their past five games, more than in nine of their previous 17 games and more than in 54 games last season.

The Rockets, however, were rolling long before that, beginning with Yao scoring 17 first-quarter points.

"We had the big fella rolling early," McGrady said. "They had no answer for him."

"I'm just doing my job, man," Yao said. "They put a single coverage on me, so every time I catch the ball, I'm just gonna go.

"I thought after the first two baskets I made, they might come to double-team or something. But I kept looking around and still there was only one man. It was working. I think they were hoping we'd get bored throwing the ball into the paint and start to play some perimeter, playing their game. We know their game. They were weak on the inside."

Yao made 12 of 17 shots for his 27 points, slowing down after his rapid start, but never being solved.

With the defense holding the league's top shooting team to 39 percent , Yao dominating inside, and McGrady inside and out, the only remaining question was not whether the Rockets would roll, but by how much — and how much they could enjoy it.