http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3571539.html Jan. 7, 2006, 1:12AM Rockets undone by James Guard lights up ex-teammates after run-in with Howard By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle TORONTO - Mike James had only just begun to make the Rockets pay. At the time, they had not offered a hint at the collapse to come. The Toronto Raptors had not yet found their shooting touch. Then James drove the lane as he would with consistent ease, put a jumper in through a Juwan Howard foul, and said something that set Howard off. Howard shoved the ball into James' face. Then James and the Raptors spent the rest of the night shoving every slight, real or perceived, back in the Rockets' mugs, with James burning his former team for 30 points and the Raptors rolling to a 112-92 victory Friday before a crowd of 17,460 that gave the guard a standing ovation as he left the court. Howard, who was hit with a technical foul and ejected, would say little about the incident. "I'm not talking about the situation," he said. "Don't ask me about it." James, who received a technical for taunting, insisted there was nothing personal. "He's my boy," James said. "At least, I thought he was." But James had called Howard something Howard would not accept. James then consistently broke down the Rockets' guards off the dribble, triggering a Raptors offense that made half of its 82 shots, the best shooting night against the Rockets this season. Though his play — he added eight assists and seven rebounds to his 10-of-17 shooting — was typical of his personal role in the Raptors' five-game winning streak, James seemed to especially relish tormenting the team that sent him away. "I definitely know what he's capable of," said Rockets forward Tracy McGrady, who had 37 points. "He's a good friend of mine, and he told me every time he faces us he's taking it personally. And he did that, and he did a great job of that." Had James wanted to continue taunting, he could have pointed to the night's mismatch with Rafer Alston, whom the Rockets acquired from the Raptors in exchange for James. Alston missed the team bus and arrived late at the arena, then made one of five shots for two points. "I wasn't thinking about the game like that. I was thinking about what I need to do to help the team win," Alston said. "Coming off two impressive games after the injury, I thought I'd pick up where I left off, but I couldn't find a flow and a rhythm." The Rockets' problems were not on the offensive end, however. They were hardly rolling offensively, but they have often shot much worse than Friday's 44.6 percent. But defensively, as in the Raptors' win last month in Houston, the Rockets could not cut off dribble penetration. Once the Rockets' defense broke down, the Raptors were left open to launch 27 3-pointers, hitting 12, including nine in the second half. With Howard gone after 14 minutes, the Rockets could not begin to match up with the Raptors' combination or Chris Bosh and Charlie Villanueva. Both were too quick for Dikembe Mutombo and too energetic and determined for Stromile Swift, who did little to contest the Toronto big men inside or out. The Raptors ended the second quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 48-44 halftime lead. In the second half, the Rockets botched their first two plays and their first two defensive rotations. The Raptors stretched that 9-0 run to a 25-5, eight-minute assault that blew the game open early. "We could have avoided that, but we weren't focused," McGrady said. "When you're not focused and that team is playing extremely well, you're going to lose. We just weren't hungry in the second half." Villanueva, the rookie taken with the seventh pick of the draft, had his way with the Rockets, scoring 18 of his 21 points in the second half while James rolled up 19 points in 17 second-half minutes. "(James) shot terrific," Alston said. "It was hard to get him out of it. He hit some shots with a hand in his face. He was into the game. There were times I was all over him. I even fouled him on some shots. He still made them." Asked if James plays well with such emotion, Howard offered only a terse "he had a good game." James, however, was too giddy for anger. "It was made bigger than it was because he threw the ball at me, but it's part of the game," he said. "It's what you do after that, and we got the victory." And with Howard seething and the Rockets staggering, James got the last word. jonathan.feigen@chron.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ROCKETS SUMMARY Missing the bus On a night in which he was under more scrutiny than he likely will be before any road game, Rockets guard Rafer Alston missed the team bus to the arena and arrived at Air Canada Centre 75 minutes before Friday's game against Toronto. "I forgot there was only one bus tonight," Alston said. "I just missed the bus." The Rockets' team bus usually heads to the arena three times, the first with staff and the next two departures for players. Rookies and players in need of extra treatment go on the first player bus and veterans on the last bus. The Rockets occasionally have only one player bus to the arena as they did Friday when playing the second half of a back-to-back because they have an afternoon walk-through at the hotel rather than a morning shootaround at the arena. Alston's first game in Toronto after last season's tumultuous season with the Raptors brought a barrage of questions about his comments this week that the Raptors last season were not prepared and went into games "cold." "I don't have any regrets," Alston said. "I have no bad feelings for them. I love to be prepared. I love to go in there and know what we're doing offensively and defensively. I like to know what the other team has been doing the last five, six games. What they did against us. Last year, I didn't know." Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy would neither "glorify him or demonize him or play into that storyline." "I think those comments from players are never called for," Van Gundy said. "I spoke to him about looking forward and not backwards. Everyone throws darts afterwards, and it's not called for. "What happened with him last year, I don't know what he did. That's between him and (Raptors coach) Sam (Mitchell). Every coach-player relationship is at times difficult, at times tortured, at times satisfying. I've had harder guys to coach. I've had much harder guys to coach." Shot down The Rockets went into Friday's game second in the NBA in opponents' field-goal percentage, having not allowed a team to make half of its shots this season. But they have struggled to stop dribble penetration throughout the season, often leading to open 3-point shots. The Raptors hit 12 of 27 treys and 41 of 82 shots overall, the best shooting against the Rockets this season. "You can't say 'after' (dribble penetration)," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "That is a problem if you're allowing dribble penetration. The guy on the ball has to contain the ball a lot better. There were a lot of problems. I was happy with a couple guys and disappointed with the majority." The Raptors had so little difficulty getting open shots, Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said they didn't shoot particularly well despite making half their attempts. "We didn't shoot the ball well, but we kept getting good shots," he said. "I couldn't get upset with the shots because they were good shots." Inside the numbers • 59 — Raptors' shooting percentage in the second half while the Rockets made 55.9 percent and were still outscored by 16 points. • 5 — Consecutive games in which Tracy McGrady has scored at least 30 points. • 13 — Rebounds by Dikembe Mutombo, a season high to go with a season-high eight points. • 21 — Second-chance Raptors points, one shy of the most against the Rockets this season, with 13 coming in the second half. Last word "I'm sure whenever you are playing your old team, it's not that you take it personal, but you always feel like you have something to prove." Raptors coach Sam Mitchell on ex-Rocket Mike James JONATHAN FEIGEN
