ClutchFans Game Thread: Lakers @ Rockets 2/11/2004

This was perhaps the most exciting game of the year! (for a Rockets fan)

 

what a game! I think it's pretty safe to say the we own the Fakers. Chat was nuts tonight!

 

am i crazy or have you (or someone else) posted almost that exact same thing before? like verbatim up until the last paragraph. i got one serious sense of deja vu reading that.



dang, i finally heard yao speak english. beats shaq and starts taking interviews in english, crazy. wasn't the greatest english ever, but i'll take it.


man, look at the west standings. 8 teams with 30 wins at the all star break. just ridiculous.

 

Yao is pulling a Janet Jackson....

 

Post of the week

 

rotflmao

 

ESPN:

Maybe the voters were right. Maybe Yao should start over Shaq in Sunday's All-Star Game. In a matchup of the West's top centers, Yao outscored Shaq 29-24 as the Rockets beat the road-weary Lakers 102-87 -- despite Kobe's return.

 

take a crap or play crap

 

Some headlines:

Yao outduels Shaq as Rockets top Lakers (MSNBC)

Big Lift from Big Man (nba.com)

Yao's Sting (ESPN)

"Can you say: Gotcha, Shaq? Yao Ming proved his worthiness to start in Sunday's All-Star game, scoring 29 points and hauling 11 rebounds in the Rockets' 102-87 victory over the Lakers. Shaq had 24 and 9 before fouling out."

One for the scrapbook: Yao's best night as a pro (Yahoo)

Yao Ming has had some of the most memorable nights of his young career against Shaquille O'Neal. On Wednesday, the 23-year-old Rockets' center enjoyed perhaps his best game since arriving in the NBA before last season: a 29-point, 11-rebound domination of Shaq and Lakers in Houston's 102-87 win.

 

LMAO! Funny post of the night goes to Nick...

 

So, who expects there to be a Fran Blineburry article tomorrow?

 

Does anybody in the leage draw more fouls just dribbling out on the perimeter than Cat? People defending him must see something that looks like a chance for a steal, but I guess it just isn't there.

 

Man, Feigen is quick:

Yao, Rockets stand tall
Tough defense keeps O'Neal under control
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

When the Rockets dream, this is what they see.

The see Steve Francis explosive and under control. They see Cuttino Mobley going by Kobe Bryant and passing as he never has. And more than anything, they see Yao Ming going at Shaquille O'Neal as if he was just another big man throwing his body in Yao's path but powerless to stop them.

And just when it all seemed to much even for fantasy, the Rockets rolled through a spectacular second half to blow out the Lakers, 102-87 to head to the All-Star break feeling as they rarely have felt before.

Yao got loads of defensive help on O'Neal, but he did outperform him, outscoring Yao 29-24 and grabbing 11 rebounds. Francis and Mobley each scored 21 points with Mobley adding a season-high 10 assists and Francis getting seven rebounds and six assists. And the Rockets swarms around O'Neal limited him to five of 12 shooting before he fouled out.

While Francis and Mobley carried the Rockets to a 16-point lead with 5 1/2 minutes left, Yao closed the deal.

After an O'Neal free throw and a Bryant trey, Yao nailed a hook over O'Neal. He beat him on a drive to his left. And after O'Neal put in a follow for a three-point play that brought the Lakers to within 95-83, O'Neal tried to reach over Yao to contest an entry pass, smacking Yao instead for his sixth foul with 3:20 remaining.

With 90 pounds less defender to go against, Yao immediately dropped a jumper in over Slava Medvedenko. He then drew a foul and nailed two free throws for a 100-83 Rockets lead with 1:39 left, inspiring Jeff Van Gundy to begin clearing his bench to give his starters curtain calls.

Playing one of the few teams that would never double-team him, Yao got enough shots to make all of Shanghai and half of Beijing happy. Yao made 10 of 21 shots in 37 minutes, while making nine of 11 free throws.

His finest moment might have come when he tipped an offensive rebound off the backboard and over O'Neal's reach, then spun around O'Neal, putting in his slam have O'Neal had delivered a hard hook around his neck.

The teams traded the lead for the next two minutes until the Rockets took off on a 12-4 run capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Mobley and Jim Jackson. Along the way, Francis and Payton dueled with Francis crossing over Payton before pulling up from 22 feet then throwing down a hard alley-oop slam. Payton answered with consecutive spin moves to the hole.

Payton cut the lead that had reached 11 to eight heading into the fourth quarter. But with O'Neal back on the court, and the game still very much up for grabs, the Rockets offense took off.

Yao began the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws and a jumper over Yao. But even when he picked up his fourth foul and had to go to the bench, Francis and Jackson each nailed treys that took the lead to 83-69 three minutes into the fourth quarter.

But the Rockets did not take their first steps toward blowing the game open until the bodies began to collide and crash.

Cato drew a charge on O'Neal that he will feel today, before Francis flew past Derek Fisher and threw himself toward all of O'Neal's 340 pounds. O'Neal took Francis down with a full body block and a bit of a swing of his right arm for a flagrant-1 foul. Francis got up to sink both free throws for a 16-point Rockets lead.

The lead was back at 16 with 5 1/2 minutes left after a Francis jumper.

In the first half, the Rockets had one of their finer offensive halves of the season, and did briefly lead by as many as five points early in the second quarter.

They had held Bryant in check. Playing his first game since cutting his right index finger, Bryant took just two shots in the half. Though O'Neal looked as unstoppable as ever, he was helped to a manageable 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

The Rockets also got a huge lift off the bench. Taylor made six of eight shots in the half to give the Rockets 12 points they had to have.

But the Lakers increasingly took advantage of all the attention the Rockets paid on O'Neal to find open shooters off the bench -- Devean George and Derek Fisher -- to put a charge into the offense. The game began with Slava Medvedenko taking seven shots before the rest of the team combined to that many. That did not last, however, and eventually, the Lakers got their game in gear.

When Bryant made his first shot of the night, a 3 with 2:12 left before halftime, the Lakers went ahead 43-42. Yao immediately regained the lead with a hook over O'Neal and Mobley blew past Bryant on a drive.

And with that, it seemed the Rockets could score all night.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2399232

 

bet the phones are ringing off the hook at TC

 

did anybody notice anything familiar about the lakers play tonight? imo, they looked kinda like the rockets of old. payton trying to get back at francis, shaq trying to get back at yao, kobe trying to get back at CUT TINO (still don't know what that is). the other team was playing one on one ball for a change... i dunno... just thought it was funny.

carrion.

 

Feigen has some editing to do in that article, though!

At least twice, Yao shot over himself or something like that!

 

Dunno...???

 

WoW, now that's Magic!!

 

That has to be the rockets at their best. Hopefully they will feed off of this and put a run together. Yao actually got stronger as the game went on. Maybe we just got over the hump