[Chron] Rockets lose to Memphis in double overtime

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Though he didn’t, Bonzi Wells could have searched long and hard and not found within him a glimmer of interest in the topic, or at least any inclination to discuss it.

With a week to go before the regular season is to begin, questions about his readiness to start the season or what it took to get there were of no interest. His strong play leading up to and at times in Tuesday’s 109-107 double overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the work he put in or was still to be done were not worth discussing.

To Wells, it was as if any mention of getting ready for the season might hint that such of thing was ever in doubt.

“It’s just regular basketball, man,” Wells said. “This is my 10th year. It ain’t nothing. It’s like riding a bike.”

Wells did not play in the Rockets’ win Saturday in Seattle, with Rick Adelman looking at other portions of his collection of his backcourt. That would seem to make playing time somewhat useful this week – or not.

“It’s just basketball,” Wells said. “That’s it. I could have started last week. Two months ago, I’d have been fine. It ain’t nothing. Don’t worry about injuries with me. Don’t worry about all that.

“It’s just basketball. It’s nothing.” Wells dropped between 25 and 30 pounds to get ready to play this season and rehabilitated the lingering effects of a groin injury within days of the start of training camp.

But when asked when he knew he was ready for this season, he said “Ten years ago when I was drafted.”

Still, he has seemed to have important strides since last season, so much so that while the Rockets in general struggled on Tuesday far more than in the first four preseason games, Wells seemed sharp.

In 17 minutes, on Tuesday, he made 3 of 7 shots, scoring nine points with two rebounds.

The game went into overtime when Memphis guard Casey Jacobsen nailed a 3-pointer with 11.2 seconds left, and the Rockets’ Steve Novak missed his 3 at the buzzer.

Steve Francis had scored on a drive, giving the Rockets an 85-84 lead with 58.2 seconds left. Carl Landry made two free throws to give the Rockets a three-point lead before Jacobsen’s bucket.

Francis scored on two more drives in the first overtime, then hit a fallaway jumper from seven feet, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists before fouling out. When he passed to Novak for a jumper, the Rockets seemed to have the win. But after Lowry was fouled on a drive, he got the rebound of his own miss and passed to Andre Brown for a game-tying dunk.

Once in the third overtime, the Rockets built a six-point lead on a Landry drive to a three-point play, but did not score again, losing when Kyle Lowry tipped in his own miss at the buzzer.

Francis’ finish, along with Luther Head’s 14 points, six assists and 5 of 9 shooting only offered more evidence about how difficult playing time will be to come by, especially with Wells’ assumed.

“He’s been playing very well,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said of Wells. “He’s really in good shape. He’s been very active. I’m really, really pleased with the way he’s performed. He’s a little ahead of the other guys because he’s been through this offense already, but I think he’s done really well.”

For much of the night, there was not much playing well going on. For the second-consecutive game, the Rockets were routinely beaten down the floor, with the Grizzlies scoring 24 fast break points. The Rockets returned to their careless turnovers, and finished with 22 turnovers overall.

Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady each made 4 of 11 shots, each scoring 10 points. Shane Battier, who had 19 points in Seattle, had two on Tuesday, making 1 of 8 shots.

Any lift offered by Wells off the bench was welcome, and likely will be again.

“He’s so tough around the basket,” Adelman said. “He’s moving with a lot of quickness right now. He’s a real handful on the boards, the offensive boards. When he makes the right cuts and things like that and we shot it, he’s on the boards. It’s really hard to keep him off. He’s too quick and too strong for most guys. That’s the advantage he’s figured out in our offense. He makes cuts and he makes curls, now he’s on the boards whether he gets the ball or not.

“He’s just a different type player that people aren’t used to playing on the perimeter.”

He always had been, thought that too would go without saying.

 

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