http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2973536 Resolute Rockets ring in Bucks Festive 42-point night by McGrady helps even record entering new year By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle NBA: Houston 105, Milwaukee 90 FINAL COMING UP Sunday: vs. Utah, 7:30 p.m. TV/Radio: Listings; KILT (610 AM) For all the nights the Rockets might have seemed disinterested, this one they wanted. But not to avenge a horrible loss, or even to erase the stigma still hanging around from that lost night in Milwaukee three days earlier. The Rockets' 105-90 win over the Bucks on Friday gave the Rockets what this season has needed most — a do-over. With the win, they are back where the season began, even in the win-loss columns with a .500 record for the first time since they were 6-6 on Nov. 21. They ended the year in the playoff bracket, right in the middle of the Western Conference, with seven teams holding better records and seven teams worse. And they played with enough vigor, determination and slick scoring to make the lackluster first two months seem irrelevant. "We don't want to celebrate being .500, but with four cracks to get there, to finally get there feels good," Rockets guard Bob Sura said. "Now we can try to move up in the standings." With Yao Ming sent home due to fever and bronchitis, the Rockets' offense continued its upsurge of the past eight games, making 39 of 76 shots. Tracy McGrady finished with 42 points and 10 rebounds. Combined with his 48-point night in Dallas, McGrady has multiple 40-point games faster than any Rockets player since Elvin Hayes had two in his first 13 games. Maurice Taylor made eight of 11 shots to add 16 points, with Jon Barry adding 11. The Rockets also defended with more energy than they had in struggling through the first two months. The Bucks shot just 32-of-82, trailing from start to finish. The Rockets, who led by as many as 11 points in the first half, let the lead slip to as few as three before pushing it back to 11 with three minutes left until the fourth quarter. But they did not really seem in command until McGrady began to roll as he did to start the game. McGrady gave the Rockets their largest lead, 79-65, two minutes into the fourth quarter. Michael Redd and Mike James scored for the Bucks, but McGrady answered with a free throw and a long 3-pointer that gave him 41 points for the night and the Rockets an 83-69 lead with nearly nine minutes left. From there, the Rockets enjoyed themselves offensively and did enough defensively and on the boards to make the offense hold up. Along the way, Scott Padgett drove the baseline to a slam that drew giggles from his teammates. Maurice Taylor took a McGrady pass to a throw down a dunk inside, and later pulled up on a drive for an 18-footer that gave him 10 fourth-quarter points. David Wesley, struggling with his shot in his two games with the Rockets since being traded from New Orleans — but playing 42 minutes on Friday to match up with Redd — hit a 20-footer, and when Padgett dropped in a 3, the Rockets led 98-87 with 98 seconds left. Taylor added an even better dunk. Jon Barry dropped in a 3. And the Rockets left the court to a standing ovation. From the opening tip, they showed more life than they had in Milwaukee days before, needing 10 seconds to score and leading throughout the first half. McGrady put in that first basket and had 17 points in the first quarter, all in the first 6:40 when the Rockets moved out to a 21-11 lead. While he drove their offense, the Rockets defended and rebounded as they never did in Milwaukee, particularly in the first quarter, when the Bucks made just 31.8 percent of their shots and the Rockets, whipped on the boards in Milwaukee, outrebounded them 18-8. The Rockets held their largest lead, 11 points, with seven minutes left before halftime. But with that, the Rockets' command of the game slipped away. The Bucks outscored the Rockets 15-7 in the next six minutes, making six of nine shots. When Dan Gadzuric took a Mike James pass to a slam, the Bucks had moved to within three, 47-44. McGrady and Mutombo each made a pair of free throws before halftime to push the lead back to seven. But more than that, the Rockets had done enough to consider themselves a different team than the one the Bucks had pounded. "It's been a struggle," said Sura, who added six points and five rebounds. "We had injuries. We had missed games. We had trades. We had a lot of stuff. So now we're at .500, and we can start trying to move past all that and move forward." jonathan.feigen@chron.com
