http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2980173 Suns are just too hot Poor shooting in second half costs Rockets By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle NBA: Houston 98, Phoenix 108 FINAL COMING UP Friday: at LA Lakers, 9:30 p.m. TV/Radio: Listings; KILT (610 AM) They had spent weeks under the hood. Their offense had been retooled, with the new parts running smoothly, and the Rockets were ready to put this year's model up against the state-of-the-art machine. It might have been an interesting race. The Rockets slowed Phoenix — just a bit. They kept pace — for a while. But when it hit the third turn, the Rockets' shiny new offense crashed, and the Suns shifted into a gear the Rockets could not find, cruising to a 108-98 victory Wednesday night that moved them to 28-4 and ended Houston's three-game winning streak. "You're just glad every NBA team is not like that," the Rockets' Tracy McGrady said. "I've never been so tired after a ballgame. "I've never seen a team that gets you back on your heels when you make a shot, I mean every time you make a basket. We're not used to that. Sometimes you make a shot, or you make a run, and you have a tendency to relax and jog up and down the court. Those guys get the ball out and they're gone. They're coming up our backs. "But if we would have hit those open jumpers and the shots we had, it would have been a better ballgame." It would have at least been a game in which the Rockets had a chance. Instead, after making only 31.3 percent (15-of-48) of their shots in the second half, there was no way they could keep pace with the NBA's most prolific offense. Every Phoenix starter scored in double figures, with Shawn Marion leading the way with 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. Amare Stoudemire added 19 points and nine rebounds, Quentin Richardson had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Joe Johnson finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Rockets did not help themselves by breaking down in other ways. They did not get back defensively in the second half as they had done earlier. They picked up a few more turnovers. And they never could find a way to cover all of the Suns shooters and help inside against the full-speed attacks of Steve Nash and Stoudemire as the Suns connected on 15 3-pointers, including 14 in the first three quarters. But the Rockets might have overcome all of that. Some of their problems, particularly their transition defense, might not have been an issue if they had shot better. But McGrady, who scored 24 points, made only two of 12 shots in the second half, missing all five of his 3-point attempts. Juwan Howard, who made 3-of-5 in the first half, was only 1-of-5 in the second half. The Rockets got to within three points with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter, but they made only nine of 27 shots the rest of the way. "We certainly had a lot of shots," said Rockets guard Bob Sura, who scored only two points on 1-of-7 shooting. "Maybe they're not a great defensive team over there, but they did shoot the ball well from 3 and put pressure on us. We were trailing all night. But we had the shots. They just wouldn't go down for us." The Rockets were in position to make a run at the Suns, but they were unable to make much of a move in the second half when they simply did not shoot well enough to close the gap on the NBA's fastest fliers. "I did like how we fought," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I didn't like how we didn't get back in transition. Then it's a make-or-miss league. They made, and we missed. That's why they're where they are." The Rockets did make several runs at cutting the Suns' lead in the second half, drawing to within three on a Sura drive with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the quarter and to within four after a Howard jumper with 3 1/2 minutes left. But eventually, they would have to get some scoring from McGrady. But after Howard's jumper, McGrady pulled up on a break and missed a 3-pointer. He tried an 18-footer and missed that. He then tried a pass inside only to have Stoudemire steal it. "Great shot selection," said McGrady, who missed all eight of his attempts in the third quarter. "We just didn't knock them down. It was just one of those nights." The Rockets closed to within nine points in the fourth quarter, but they never really seemed to challenge. "You just can't shoot sub-40 (percent) and beat this team," said Jon Barry, who had nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. "There's no way because they are going to score. Missing shots feeds into their running game." The Suns didn't need the help. "I'm pretty confident," McGrady said. "There's no need for us to hang our head. We played pretty well tonight. Some things didn't go our way. But for the most part we played pretty well against the best team in the league." But "pretty well" was not going to get it done against the souped-up Suns, especially with the Rockets' engines misfiring. jonathan.feigen@chron.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rockets Summary Defensive challenge With the Suns surging to the NBA's best record at this point since the Bulls in 1996-97, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said they could chase an accomplishment that would go well beyond being the talk of the league. "They're making a run at the Bulls' record (72 wins in the 1995-96 season)," Van Gundy said. "It's legit. I don't think anyone is giving them that credit, that that's how good they are." The Suns' style, using Amare Stoudemire at center with Shawn Marion at power forward, can cause all sorts of matchup problems. It spreads the floor, creating room for Steve Nash to drive. It forces big men such as Yao Ming to play with a quickness disadvantage. "When you're going up against greatness, it's not going to be about schemes," Van Gundy said. "It's going to be about being simple and passionate and staying the course through the ups and downs of the game, or a great, spectacular play by them. "When you play a team as highly accomplished as Phoenix is, you can become paralyzed where you don't take away anything." Relief aid Bob Sura and Tracy McGrady were among seven NBA players who have pledged to contribute to UNICEF's South Asia Emergency Relief Efforts. The players will donate $1,000 for every point they score this week -- in the Rockets' case, in the game against the Lakers on Friday. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Mike Miller, Jermaine O'Neal and Jalen Rose also made that offer for games Thursday or Friday. "I'm just trying to help out a little bit," Sura said. "That's such a devastating event that happened over there, to see the devastation on TV and what those people are going through, I'm just trying to give something to help out. "(McGrady) might go for half-a-hundred (points). I might get 20 (points). I'll be happy with that. We're happy to help out. People are in such dire straits. It's such a tragic, tragic event. It's catastrophic, having hundreds of thousands of people dying. You count your blessings every day to be in the position we're in." The idea came from the players' representatives; all seven players are represented by agents at SFX. "I just thought it would be a great idea," McGrady said. "I'm a blessed athlete. I'm very fortunate. It was a disastrous thing that happened over there. As an athlete, where I come from and how I feel about giving back, I think it's only right. "Hopefully, other guys in the league, other athletes or other people that are blessed, hopefully they ... do that as well. People over there in Southeast Asia are really hurting. They need our help. I'm glad to do it. "The minimum (for McGrady) is $30,000. It's a sad thing that happened over there. It's only right I do that. People over there are starving. They have lost homes, lost family." The Rockets held a collection before Wednesday's game, with the organization also making a contribution. Press row view The Rockets' offense is better than that. But they are not going to outscore the Suns. Against the league's best offensive teams -- and most other good teams -- the Rockets can keep pace only if they rebound, take care of the ball and get back defensively. The Rockets did a few of those things. But when they began shooting horribly, they slipped on the others. As they continue to search for who they are, they will have to see those qualities in the mirror first. By the numbers Jon Barry's 14 points, five field goads, four 3-pointers and five rebounds were all season highs. ... The Rockets had five players score in double figures for the fourth time this season. ... David Wesley's 15 points were his high with the Rockets. ... Dikembe Mutombo's 14 points were one shy of his season high. Did you know? With their 28th win coming on the one-year anniversary of the cap-clearing trade of Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to New York, the Suns are within one win of last season's total. -- JONATHAN FEIGEN
