ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Lakers 11/17/2002

This has to be one of the worst teams in the league at executing down the stretch. Get a shot off!

 

That was the dumbest play from Steve just after a timeout to have a clock violation. Gee, what a LEADER!!!

 

Go Ming! If you are shy of the kiss by chuckster, I am 100% willing to offer my butts. Hahaha.

 

Yao's 19th point:

 

even though they missed the shot, how come rudy didn't put yao and griff in on D????

 

Rockets win! Mobley redeems himself with those free throws.

That was the 4th quarter lineup I've been waiting for all season...Steve, Cat, Hawkins, Yao, and Taylor...except normally I'd rather have Griffin over Mo, but Mo was so hot tonight. Finally no Rice in the 4th.

 

AWSOME GAME ROCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mo-T and Yao is and awsome combo...

 

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Kobe chocked on the game-tying shot! Yeah, he is sooooo clutch

Hit those free throws Cuttino. What the 1-2?? What is going on with Cuttino's clutch free throw shooting??

 

Ha ha, Kobe got 46 points and LOST!

 

We stole this game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Was Yao perfect from field?

He is plainly awesome tonight. I guess Shaq will regret that he missed this game. Haha. Where are your elbows, Shaq, when fakers need them most...

 

PERFECT 9 for 9 and 2 for 2 from the line!!! I am SOOOOOO impressed with everyone's performance tonight, and like everyone especially Yao Ming!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Wow, the BBS is really getting a flood of traffic from this awesome win!!! W00T!!!

 

Did you see him ripped those boards and slam them hard. Who said he aint got no sharp elbows. Too bad he didnt tip the ball to his teammates this game. I guess he read some MING bashers posted here complaining about that after the last game.

 

The Lord of the Mings: The Fellowship of the Ming.


One Ming to rule them all, One Ming to beat them,
One Ming to bring them all, and in the games destroy them,
In the Land of Houston, where the Championships lie.

 

Damn! Off all the games I had to miss, I had to miss out on Yao Ming's breakout game.. Anyone got this on tape?

 

Don't worry. Yao will have many more good games to come!

What I really looing forward to is this coming NBA on TNT (Charles and Kenny).

This one is going to be one of the funniest ones yet!

 

We didn't steal this one... the Lakers were lucky they didn't lose by 10. Kobe had to have a spectacular night to keep them in it.

Happy, windandsea?

 

Yeah the Lakers were lucky we didn't blow thier sorry a**es out. This is why I live and die Houston Rockets Basketball. We have the best team in the NBA. I'm so glad Cat redeemed himself. Hahahaha I'm so glad Kobe choked, I had a $20 bet on this game with a faker fan. Rockets #1, all the way!!!

 

Deckard, I'm talking about the two missed, 3-pointers and the wide open
layup.

We stole this one! It was a win by default. Just like the one that the
Suns had on us.

We played well (nice passing) overall. Like the Suns game.

 

Game Recap



LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Houston Rockets have been patiently waiting for Yao Ming to display the talents of a first overall draft choice.

The 7-foot-6 Chinese import did just that in the eighth game of his career -- and against the three-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, no less.

Yao shot 9-for-9 in scoring a career-high 20 points in 23 minutes, and also had six rebounds Sunday night to help the Rockets beat the Lakers 93-89.

Steve Francis scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Maurice Taylor had nine of his 12 in the final period for the Rockets (5-3), who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Lakers.

``He added to his highlight reel tonight,'' Lakers forward Rick Fox said of Yao. ``He's been much-maligned as a No. 1 draft pick. You can't teach 7-6. This is an individual who can clearly play the game, he's no circus act. He's going to have more and more nights like this.

``He can speak clear English, too, which surprised me. I heard him talking to his teammates.''

The loss was the fifth in six games for the three-time defending NBA champion Lakers (3-7), again playing without Shaquille O'Neal -- a development which no doubt worked to Yao's advantage.

``I guess it's luck,'' Yao said through an interpreter when asked about making every shot he took -- nine field goals and two free throws. ``For me, it's definitely a breakthrough.''

Yao made six baskets in the second quarter and three baskets and a pair of free throws to complete three-point plays in the final period.

The 22-year-old rookie's previous high was 10 points.

``The big kid was really good tonight, he was the difference in this game,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

``He was a presence in there for us,'' Taylor said. ``They didn't have their big guy, we had ours.''

Yao, who played one minute in the first period, 10 in the second and the entire fourth quarter, said he was motivated by the championship banners hanging in Staples Center.

``It's one of the more important reasons why I was excited to be on the court,'' he said. ``I know the Lakers have a lot of great centers in the past and have won a lot of championships.''

O'Neal, recovering from offseason surgery on his arthritic right big toe, again said he hopes to play his first game of the season Friday night against the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 46 points in a losing cause, but missed a wide-open shot with about 10 seconds left that could have given the Lakers the lead.

Derek Fisher added a season-high 17 points for the Lakers.

Bryant scored five straight points to cut Houston's lead to 87-86 with 1:46 remaining.

Yao made a three-point play with a minute left before Fisher's three-pointer with 44.4 seconds to go made it a one-point game again.

The Lakers got the ball back when the Rockets failed to get a shot off in 24 seconds, but Bryant missed a driving scoop shot that could have given his team the lead.

AP Photo

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Cuttino Mobley, who scored 15 points, made two free throws with 8.2 seconds left, making it 92-89. Bryant missed a 3-point shot before Mobley made a foul shot with one second left to complete the scoring.

``I tried to George Gervin it, the ice melted before it hit the rim,'' Bryant said with a chuckle of the shot he missed that could have given his team the lead. ``The shot should have fallen, but it didn't. But we still had plenty of opportunities before that to do something positive.''

Fisher made a basket to start the fourth quarter, putting the Lakers on top 66-59.

But with Bryant taking a breather, the Rockets scored 11 straight points -- five by Taylor and three each by Francis and Yao -- to put them ahead 70-66, and they were on top the rest of the way.

The Rockets led by as many as eight points before the Lakers battled back into contention. Bryant scored 14 points in the final 7 1/2 minutes, but it wasn't enough.

Bryant, who shot 18-of-37, scored 16 of his team's 24 points in the secondquarter to help the Lakers take a 43-42 halftime lead.

Notes

Houston center Kelvin Cato missed his third game due to the death of his grandmother in Atlanta. Cato is scheduled to rejoin the team Monday in Houston. ... Lakers forward Devean George missed his third game because of tendinitis in his right ankle. Jackson said he hopes George and forward Mark Madsen, on the injured list all season due to a strained left hamstring, will both be able to practice Monday and return to action in the near future. ... With tongue in cheek, Jackson said he was glad O'Neal's first game of the season wasn't against Yao and the Rockets, adding with a smile: ``He'd break him in two.'' ... O'Neal was complimentary when asked about Yao, saying: ``Congratulations to Mr. Ming, first of all. He's done a lot for his country.He has all the tools -- shoot, dribble. He can play, he's no slouch.''

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