ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Pacers @ Rockets 12/18/2002

argh! sorry about that. we need the edit function back!

Yeah, there was no garbage time at all. They were within 8 with 47 seconds to go after artest hit a three pointer. Well, maybe now Boki will have a buddy on the bench who doesn't plays: Terrence Morris. I'm thinking Posey will eventually start and rice becomes the backup which means TMo will be straight chilling on the pine with Boki

 

The song is a standard is soccer stadiums all over Europe and South America. Glad we've come to adopt it for our game here in the U.S.!

Rockets were awesome. With Griffin having more play time now that KThomas is gone, the future looks great. Yao is, well, Yao... what a game!

 

On that pass to Eddie in the fourth quarter, you'll notice that the pass was in front of Eddie and not behind him. He thought Eddie would (god forbid!) move CLOSER to the basket instead of standing outside the three point line like he usually does. That's not really Eddie's fault, it's just miscommunication on both their parts. I've done that plenty of times...faking a cut toward the basket, not cutting, and having the pass sail by in front of me.

On the bounce pass to Ming, Steve passed it a little too low. If Steve had bounced the ball a little closer to himself, it would have bounce higher, and Ming would have gotten it for an easy slam...

 

1st quarter - Yao starts the game
11:47 Right after the tip, Jermaine O'Neal drives the baseline and goes up for a dunk--BUT YAO IS THERE FOR THE REJECTION!!! The Houston crowd goes crazy!! But the refs call a foul! Replays show that Yao blocked it cleanly, but Eddie Griffin fouled him from the side.
11:19 The next time down the floor for the Pacers, Jermaine O'Neal gets the ball underneath the basket with Yao towering over him. Realizing he needs to create some space, he takes one big step away from the rim and shoots a fadeaway over Yao...BUT YAO TIPS IT FOR THE BLOCK!! And this time the refs don't call a foul!
10:43 Yao gets the ball from Francis in his favorite spot on the just outside the paint on the left side. Steve cuts toward the basket AND WITH HIS BACK TO THE BASKET YAO FLIPS A PASS OVER AND BEHIND HIS HEAD, OVER BRAD MILLER, TO FRANCIS IN THE LANE ON A DEAD RUN!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!! Bill Walton, the color analyst for ESPN, belts out a long 'aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh' in admiration of the beautiful dish! Francis is fouled, so Yao won't get the assist, but he should! Rudy shows one of the most demonstrative displays of emotion I've ever seen from a coach in a first quarter play--he leaps off the bench like one of those old Toyota commercials while pumping his fist over his head!!! All the Rocket players on the bench are clapping in respect for the play. What's scary for other teams is that this pass is almost indefensible with Yao's height--no one can deflect it!
8:41 Yao catches a pass at the free throw line and upon receiving it IMMEDIATELY bounces a lead pass to Eddie Griffin who is standing close to the basket. But Griffin didn't anticipate the pass, and the ball goes out of bounds on a turnover. That's okay, though. We said it a couple of games ago--it's going to take awhile for Yao's teammates to be prepared for a pass anytime he gets the ball. But that timing should come in time for some spectacular, easy buckets. Yao smiles with the realization that this connection will come in due time.
8:36 Jermaine O'Neal faces up against Yao outside the paint, spins so his back is to the basket, the spins quickly again around Yao and tries to put up a difficult layup shot. O'Neal doesn't even hit iron on this shot, but Yao is credited for the block even though he didn't touch the ball. We'll take it, though.
5:36 Yao gets a defensive rebound and passes it to Francis, who brings it quickly up the court and passes to Rice at the three point line. Rice puts one up, and misses, BUT YAO COMES FLYING INTO THE LANE ON A FULL-SPEED RUN, AND IN ONE FLUID MOTION GRABS THE REBOUND IN MID-AIR WITH BOTH HANDS ABOUT TWO FEET FROM THE BUCKET, AND THROWS IT DOWN FOR A RIM-RATTLING DUNK! SPORTSCENTER TIME! The crowd erupts! WE CAN'T SAY IT ENOUGH--YAO IS ALL OVER THE PLACE AND NEVER QUITS IN TRYING TO GET GREAT POSITION!! All of Yao's teammates on the bench clap in mutual respect, in awe of what they just saw. The Rockets lead 12-11, and Yao is 1-for-2 from the field for 2 points.
4:44 Free Throws Francis drives to the hole, but his shot misses off the rim. But Yao is there to grab the rebound, and goes up for the put-back, but he's fouled. Yao hits both free throws.
4:29 The Pacers try an entry pass to Brad Miller aimed about head-high, but Yao is able to reach over Miller and break up the pass for the deflection! The ball bounces to Juaquin Hawkins, who gives it to Mobley, who passes to Francis who then scores a beautiful layup.
3:06 Free Throws From the right side outside the paint, Yao faces up to the basket and tries to shoot a shot over Brad Miller, but he's fouled and will go to the line. Yao hits both free throws beautifully. He now has 6 points and is 4-for-4 from the line.
2:17 Yao checks out of the game for Kelvin Cato. The Rockets lead 21-18.
2nd quarter - The Rockets lead 25-20.
6:33 Yao checks back into the game. The Rockets lead 29-25, but they desperately need Yao because they are only shooting 27% from the field (Indiana is not much better at 36%).
6:23 Ten seconds after checking back into the game, Yao goes to work. From his favorite spot, he spins baseline and dribbles twice to get underneath the basket. Seeing no open shot there, he spins back the other way and puts up a shot--BUT NO, IT'S A FAKE. INDIANA DEFENDERS BITE ON IT, AND FROM UNDERNEATH THE BASKET YAO PIVOTS AGAIN AND PUTS A REVERSE LAY-UP OFF THE GLASS!!! Bill Walton only has two words to say to describe this play: "Hakeem Olajuwon." Walton goes on to say, "The crowd is coming alive. These fans are just learning what they have in this player."
5:35 Yao cuts across the lane and catches a pass at the edge of the lane. Guarded by the O'Neal, Yao spins into the lane, jumps straight up and shoots a hook shot with a flick of the wrist--SCORE IT! The crowd loves it, the coaches love it, Steve loves it! Yao now has 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting, and 4-for-4 from the line. The Rockets lead 33-26.
5:00 From his favorite spot on the left side, Yao turns baseline and shoots a 12-footer from the baseline--SWISH!! Yao's on fire!! He's killin' me! I need a rest from typing up all these great plays! (just kidding). Bill Walton echoes my sentiments exactly, "What can't this guy do?"
4:47 A few seconds later, Yao is down on the defensive end and tracks Brad Miller down low. Miller goes up for the shot, but YAO IS THERE TO SWAT IT WITH BOTH HANDS! He's like a octopus with the way he just swallows up his man with his long 'tentacles.' The ball comes down and bounces off Miller and goes out of bounds for the Pacer turnover.
:41
Assist From his favorite spot, Yao faces up, pivots into the lane and goes up for a leaner in the lane, but it bounces high off the rim. BUT SOMEHOW YAO HAS GREAT POSITION AFTER SHOOTING TO SKY FOR THE REBOUND OVER ANOTHER PACER, BRINGS THE BALL DOWN AND IMMEDIATELY ZIPS A NO-LOOK PASS TO FRANCIS OUT ON THE WING, AND STEVE DRAINS IT! Rack up an assist for Yao! Even when he misses he does something great to make up for it!

Walton: "Yao Ming is playing at a higher level than anyone in this game by far. It's not even close. And we're talking about some very good players."
2:29 Yao checks out of the game for Cato. Walton asks, "Why do they keep taking him out?" The Rockets lead 42-30.
3rd quarter - The Rockets lead 44-34. The Pacers go on a 10-2 run to start the quarter.
7:40 Jermaine O'Neal gets the ball in the paint with Yao guarding him. For some reason, O'Neal goes up for a shot, pump fakes in mid-air, and tries to get off a shot. But Yao easily blocks it!
6:26 Free Throws Yao gets the ball at the corner of the free throw line, fakes a pass, then spins toward the basket, pump fakes to get the defense to commit, then goes up for a shot and he's fouled. Yao makes both free throws and is 6-6 from the line.
5:32 Ron Artest drives to the bucket and underneath the rim to try a reverse layup, BUT YAO IS THERE ALONG WITH EDDIE GRIFFIN TO SWAT IT AWAY AT THE TOP OF ARTEST'S SHOT. Great lateral movement by Yao to move along the baseline to track Artest.
4:40 Free Throws Yao is fouled by Brad Miller as Yao tries to establish position. It means free throws, though. That's it--just put Yao in a position to be fouled while the offense is struggling (2-for-10 this quarter), and he'll get you points at the line. Yao makes both free throws. He's 8-for-8 from the line with 16 points.
2:48 Jermaine O'Neal receives the ball in the lane, takes two steps toward the bucket...BUT YAO SLIDES OVER AND GETS GREAT POSITION, KNOCKS YAO OVER, AND DRAWS THE CHARGE!
1:51 From his favorite spot, Yao dribbles twice into the lane while leaning hard on Brad Miller, then spins the other way toward the baseline, jumps and lays it in easily off the glass! Yao now has 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. The Rockets lead 58-56.

The Rockets shot 4-for-18 and had 8 turnovers. With the way the Rockets have been struggling, it's amazing Yao only has shot the ball 9 times thus far.
4th quarter - The Rockets lead 58-56 after an ugly third quarter for both teams.
10:14 Maurice Taylor passes a nice bullet pass to Yao in the middle of the paint. Yao turns to his right, jumps and extends his right arm for a hook shot, flicks his wrist, and SCORE IT! That's 20 points now for Yao. Mr. Reliable comes through. The Rockets now trail 62-63.
6:50 In his favorite spot with the Rockets only leading by 1, Yao faces up to the basket and fakes a jump shot on Jeff Foster. Foster bites on the fake, then Yao drives around him toward the middle of the paint, takes two dribbles, then goes up high for another hook shot, AND SWISH! WHAT BEAUTIFUL TOUCH on almost the same exact play as four minutes ago! The Rockets needed that bucket! Yao has 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.
6:15 In one of his rare mistakes, Yao has the ball in his favorite spot on the left side, but Jamaal Tinsley comes around the baseline in a flash and cleanly picks the ball out of Yao's hand. No way he saw that coming. Tinsley drives down the court and passes to Reggie Miller at the three-point line, who hits it to take the lead 71-70.
5:48 Steve Francis throws the ball out of bounds on a wild pass, and Bill Walton asks, "Why isn't Yao Ming handling the ball more?"
3:44 With the Rockets down 70-72, the Rockets swing the ball around the horn (FINALLY some ball movement), and it comes to Yao at the edge of the paint on the right side. With a shorter man guarding him, he automatically goes up for a jump hook and SCORES IT AGAIN! He's reminding me of Hakeem: when the Rockets needed a bucket, Dream was the go-to guy. The Rockets have tied it up. Yao now has 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting.
4:25 After Cuttino hits a three to put Houston up 75-72, the Pacers make a nice entry pass to O'Neal. Yao slides over to tower over O'Neal as he crouches low after gathering the pass. Having nowhere to go since Yao is towering over him, he could either pass out of trouble, or hope to get a foul called on Yao as he goes up for the shot. O'Neal chooses the latter, BUT YAO SWATS IT OUT OF THERE FOR A BIG-TIME REJECTION (I am typing this very, very hard for emphasis!)
3:01 I don't think there is anything else I can write about Yao after this play. I now think I have seen it all. Here goes: Yao posts up in his favorite spot. He dribbles to his right twice into the lane, pulls up, pivots back to his left to fake out Brad Miller, AND THEN TAKES A STEP TOWARD THE BASKET AND SCOOPS AN UNDERHANDED SHOT OFF THE GLASS AND OVER THE BLOCK ATTEMPT OF JERMAINE O'NEAL FOR THE BASKET!! Walton: "That was Pete Maravich." The Rockets lead 80-76. Yao has 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
2:23 Free Throws On a wild play, Yao is passed the ball in the middle of the paint, but it's tipped and Yao fights for the ball and controls it underneath the bucket. He's got a sure two-handed jam coming when Brad Miller comes over and APPLIES HACK-A-YAO on his neck and head. Yao crashes to the floor hard and holds his face. This is the same buffoon who Shaq took a swing at last year because of the Hack-a-Shaq treatment Miller was putting on him.

Walton: "What is Brad Miller thinking, coming down with the violent arm swing to the head? I'm surprised an ejection didn't take place there." Miller is called for a flagrant foul (his fourth of the year) Yao eventually gets up, but Jermaine O'Neal doesn't; he's writhing in pain on the floor while holding his knee. O'Neal is eventually carried off the court.

After the timeout, Yao misses the first free throw but makes the second. He's 9-for-10 from the line. The Rockets lead 81-76.
2:07 The Rockets get possession because of the flagrant foul, so who do they give the ball to? Thankfully, Yao. From his spot on the left side, Yao dribbles to the edge of the free throw line, pivots toward the baseline and shoots his unblockable fallaway jumper. NOTHING BUT NET!!! You gotta think he wanted to make a statement to the Pacers that they can hack all they want, they can't stop him. The crowd goes crazy!

Walton: "The classy response, not a violent play, no anger shown. We all have alot to learn from Yao Ming." Yao has scored 29 points, 11 in the fourth quarter alone.
:42.2 With the Rockets up by 8, Glen Rice inbounds the ball to Yao way out high. WITH THE ENTIRE PACER DEFENSE COLLAPSING ON HIM, YAO GRABS IT IN MID-AIR AND WHILE FALLING AWAY IMMEDIATELY PASSES IT BACK TO RICE, who drives to the bucket but misses the layup! What a beautiful Larry Bird pass by the Big Guy!
:32.3 Showing his smarts once again, Yao is going to inbound the ball after a Pacer score. The ball is on the ground and he's standing along the baseline. He's looking at the ball leaving the defense guessing when he's going to pick it up. Then within one second, he rapidly picks the ball up, quickly steps behind the line, and inbounds the ball to an open man, thus giving the defense no time to react! Larry Bird-like again. Walton starts laughing at how clever Yao is.

 

notes, remembering the game last night.

What I kept thinking was that Brad Miller isn't a very good defender. The interesting thing was that Ming was out muscling Miller all night long. He would turn into Brad and just push him away with that lower body of his. He was powering into the post repeatedly.

Ming had some awesome shots, but the one where he was trapped a foot behind the backboard and scored anyway...

Didn't you all think EG got more than 1 block? He's officially credited for just one. I got the impression he had his hands on several balls last night.

It's been commented on before but Mobley was big for the team in the last 4 minutes. I'll agree with others that it was gutty to play big at the end when his shot had been off all night.

Does anyone else think that if a one legged Jermaine O'Neal could foul out EG, that this won't be the last game he fouls out of this year?

Dave

 

Yao's new nickname should be The Sponge.

The kid absorbs so much knowledge, understanding and learning so friggin' quickly. What a cerebral game he plays.

 

Yea...just imagine all the birth control endorsements he could do.

 

Nice call.

Mobley turned it on in the 4th, he was huge.

 

This is the first chance that I have gotten to post this and I am pressed for time.

I saw all of last night's game and I was impressed with how Mobley fought off the poor performance in the first 3 quarters to come up with some big shots in the 4th.

Francis and Yao still seem to be missing something at times, but I can tell that Steve is trying to go to him more than he did in the past.

Yao just gets better and better every time I see him (which is only been about 3 times ).

I thought that Moochie played alright and Cato was huge off the bench in rebounding.

Mo was disappointing and TMo played way too MANY minutes, IMO.

Eddie continues to be an enigma - capable of great plays one minute, and then getting torched on defense the next minute.

Looks like Hawkins will become the 11th man once Posey gets here.

Brad Miller is a punk and I can see why Shaq went after him last year.

Ron Artest is very good but seemed to initiate way too much contact and was getting calls that seemed to be ones that all-pros get not up and coming players like him.

Although it wasn't a perfect game by the Rockets, you can't fault guys when they are giving effort.

If we can give this type of effort all the time, then I think we will be in the playoffs.

 

C'mon, rockHEAD!! You couldn't put "6 blocks" in there somewhere? It WAS his season high, after all...

 

The sign of a winner is how you finish a game. At the end there were two dynamite plays by the big dyNASTY. When the inbound pass broke down and Ming took the pass from Rice and sent it back to the only uncovered man..........Rice. Rice did not finish, but it was more great vision.

Also at the end when the double dropped down on Ming, the dyNASTY knew that the Pacers were keying on him so he pointed to the baseline franticly, and when Rice saw him pointing he slid behind him under the basket he was wide open. These plays will not show up in the line, but are a big part of being a strong finisher. We are going to win a lot of big, tight games folks.

 

Nice pic, dude.

Rice never laughed like this when he was with Lakers. Good to see him laughing like this.

 

O'Neal 27 points before injury late in game
Griffin 7 points

Hey, what does a guy have to do to get some props around here?

 

Nice catch. If you don't mention Reggie, I even cannot remember he was playing on the team. Definitely a non-factor last night.

Good defense by CAT.

 

I thought Mobley played a good game. Other than 1 or 2 forced ones, all of his shots were wide open, they just didn't fall.

As a shooter, you have to keep shooting it when you are open. Plus, he played good defense yesterday.

Steve played a much controlled game as well, other than dribbling too much on a few occasions which resulted several TOs.

 

Yeah, that was a sweet play that I really enjoyed a lot too. It seemed to catch Rice a bit by surprise as well, since he hesitated a bit and couldn't convert -- but at least he got the foul and made both free throws. And Rice also seemed really pleased with Yao's pass as well.

Yao just makes the game so much easier for everybody with his alertness and savvy. And he makes the game so much more fun to watch. He's a true, all-around basketball talent that doen't need years of experience and playing with teammates to make intelligent plays.

 

Man, you are the man. I've read every word of your post and could not help wondering why Chronicle or other sports magazines don't hire you.

You can become a very good sports writer! Seriously.

Thanks for your time and efforts.

 

Your description of TMO is too funny. Laughing my butt off. Take him to the doctor for fumbleitis. Looked like he was trying to hold a greased pig.

Yao Ming is bling bling. They finally went to him down the stretch in crunch time, and he delivered, not only with the buckets but with great decision making and patience with the basketball. The only thing I saw is he needs to be aware of the guard coming around his backside for the steal. I think he lost 2 or 3 that way. Glenn missed a wide open 3 that Yao gave him off the double team. If everybody would have been hitting their shots, Yao may have had 6 or 7 assists. The ultimate test will be Shaq daddy. Can Yao stay out of foul trouble? If Yao stays out of foul trouble against Shaq, Shaq will go off for 25 or so, but Shaq will have to deal with Yao on the other end. I can see Yao posting up above the free throw line and nailing turn arounds on Shaq, then when Shaq bodies up on him, Yao spinning off him like nothing and trapsing down the lane. Dreamed about it all night. Man, am I tired.