Houston Chronicle: DALE ROBERTSON & JONATHAN FEIGEN

Rockets dress for success with 114-93 win
Red, gold look good in win over Magic
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

UPDATE
• Sunday: Rockets 114, Magic 93
• Boxscore

• Playoff watch: 40-37, one game behind No. 8 Phoenix in Western Conference.

• Yao watch: 14 points, eight rebounds in 27 minutes

• Tuesday: Portland at Compaq Center, 7:30 p.m.

• TV/radio: Ch. 51; KILT (610 AM) and in Spanish on KYST (920 AM).


Now there is no way the Rockets will want to go back to the stripes.

After a night in the old red-and-gold throwback jerseys, they would have had no interest in ever putting on their pajama-like uniforms again regardless. But as long as the Rockets were going to dress like champions for one night, they marked the occasion by crushing the last team they played in the old uniforms.

In a nod to their 1995 NBA Finals sweep of the Magic, the Rockets wore the old colors on Sunday and whipped Orlando 114-93 before 15,335 at Compaq Center.

They moved the ball well, rebounded better and shot from the perimeter better still. But as much as there was at stake in their race with the Suns for the Western Conference's last playoff berth -- the Rockets moved within a half-game of Phoenix after the Suns lost in overtime to the Lakers -- they said they were inspired by their past.

Never underestimate the clothes of a champion.

"We were feeling good in those unis," Rockets guard Moochie Norris said. "We knew we had to respect the uniforms. Even before the tip, we felt good. They won championships in those uniforms. We had to live up to that. I wish we could keep wearing them."

They can't. Tuesday against the Trail Blazers, the thick stripes and Rocket with the gritting teeth will be back.

But the Rockets ran so completely through their checklist of how they say they must play, they were convinced they could play as they did on Sunday even when they dress as they have the past eight seasons.

The most obvious quality they so often talk about was the ball movement that led to balanced scoring. The Rockets not only made their first four shots to take an 11-0 lead, burning the zone the Magic employed on Yao Ming, but they also had assists on all four.

Topping 100 points for the sixth time in their past eight wins, the Rockets led by as many as 27 before clearing the bench. If the score itself was not enough of an indication of how great the mismatch had been, the Magic had one player, Tracy McGrady, score in double figures before Steven Hunter mopped up in the last few minutes. The Rockets had seven.

McGrady had 28 points but just four in the second half.

The Rockets' seven players in double figures were led by Cuttino Mobley, who scored 23 points on 6-for-11 shooting, and Steve Francis (21, 7-for-10).

"We all know what we can do," Francis said. "We know how we can play. It's just that we have to be consistent. If we continue to play together, pass the basketball, hit a guy when he's open, (then) we'll be straight."

Even when the Rockets were not shooting as well, they outworked the Magic, who were playing the second half of a back-to-back.

"Houston played harder than us," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "They played like they were fighting for the playoffs, and we played like we were already in, and that's not the case. This was the first night in years that I thought our team just caved in and gave up."

The Magic rank seventh in the playoff standings in the Eastern Conference.

The best example of the Rockets' hustle came late in the first half. The Magic, who had briefly pulled back from their 11-point deficit to a tie, trailed by just eight in the last minute before halftime. But Maurice Taylor poked the ball free from Hunter, then chased it down with a dive across the court. Taylor sent a pass ahead to Norris, who flipped a high-speed behind-the-back pass to Mobley for a layup that sent the Rockets to the locker room certain they were on their way to an easy win.

"We needed a play, a big play," Norris said. "Mo knocked the ball loose, then made the extra effort. It was incredible to me to see the big guy get on the floor and beat a guard to the ball. I saw Cuttino hustling, so I set up (Pat) Garrity, kind of froze him and passed to Cuttino."

The Rockets really blew the game open when they added Francis and Yao to their offense. Yao scored on a hook and a layup set up by Mobley. He then flashed a spin move to blow by Shawn Kemp, a considerably less mobile 300-pound center than the 1995 Magic had in Shaquille O'Neal. Yao finished with a two-handed slam and soon ended his 27-minute night with 14 points, eight rebounds and another opposing coach who believes.

"He is going to be a great, great, great player in this league," Rivers said. "He can do so many things. I'm jealous because Houston gets so many great centers. When are we going to get one?"

Yao's most Hakeem Olajuwon-like moment might have been a backcourt steal from Kemp. But it was only natural that Rivers thought back to Rockets glory days. Reminders were everywhere.

"It was definitely a different feel," Taylor said. "The last time I saw the uniforms, Dream (Olajuwon) and those guys won the championship. We couldn't disrespect the uniforms and lose with them on. A lot of us would prefer to wear them every game the rest of the season.

"We know what this team is capable of doing. But it's always good to get a win when you're playing well. That's how you start streaks."

 

Rockets can see what's at stake
By DALE ROBERTSON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

Had Washington not gone into Boston earlier Sunday and beat the Celtics, the Orlando Magic would have been in position to clinch a playoff spot against the Rockets.

But, robbed of their incentive by that surprising bit of road Wizard-ry, the heavy-legged blokes from down Mickey's way decided to take the night off -- again -- thereby giving the Rockets what amounted to a free pass in their own desperate quest to sneak into the postseason.

"Orlando did not play good today," said Yao Ming, who, some four months after his first American Thanksgiving dinner, can recognize a turkey when he sees one.

Doc Rivers' gang, which dumped its fourth in a row, needs medical attention quickly. The Rockets, picking up exactly where they left off in the second half at Philadelphia on Friday, charged ahead 9-0 -- nailing three quick treys -- before the Magic successfully executed a pass.

Although they did rally back to even in the second quarter as Tracy McGrady, ignoring a painful rib injury, gamely attempted to whip the Rockets one-on-five, the spurt did them in.

The Magic's effort in the second half was somewhere between comically inept and flat-out nonexistent.

"That disturbs me," a grumpy Rivers said of the Magic's extreme lethargy coming off a paddling in Dallas on Saturday night.

He accused his players of behaving as though they were already locked into a postseason berth, which, truth to tell, they are for all practical purposes.

The Rockets, for their part, played just shy of magnificently in the 114-93 rout, save for some patchy ball-handling, which produced 21 turnovers. But they shared the wealth on offense while forcing the Magic into 24 turnovers and destroying them on the boards 46-28.

It was, fittingly, as convincing a single-game effort as their sweep of the Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals had been.

Looking like the Rockets we remember from that championship season, right down to their retro red-glare uniforms, they scored one of their easiest and most significant victories of a season that has been far longer and harder than it ever should have been.

Too many late belly-flops have left them on the outside of the Western Conference playoff bracket peering in, but they can't fix the mistakes of the past now.

They must put their reflective remorse on hold, keep their heads down and continue bulling forward, hoping Portland will show up as catatonic Wednesday as the Magic proved to be in completing their Texas oh-fer.

By Saturday, Seattle's slim playoff hopes should be terminal as well, and Memphis, the Rockets' final regular-season Compaq Center opponent ever, has been out of the hunt since roughly late November.

If the Rockets run what's left of their home-court table, then finish with a win at Denver -- one game they can't possibly lose should it mean anything (can they?) -- the odds favor them bringing their three-year playoff drought to a tense but ultimately satisfying conclusion.

"We just have to take it one at a time," Steve Francis said, "and stay aggressive."

Although some might question the Rockets' frantic desire to return to the second season given how the team they're going to be paired with -- Dallas, San Antonio or Sacramento -- will have beat them at least thrice in four tries during the first one, they know they have to advance to provide concrete proof they're making progress.

The giant rookie Yao's personal slate, of course, is pristine, and his memory of the Rockets skips over the recent lean years back to when they were the reigning kings of the basketball world, wearing the same duds he found draped on his 7-5 body this night.

"(The uniform) felt comfortable," he said. "I remember the uniform from television. But I never thought I would wear it."

While he grapples with the demands of the NBA on-court wars, he has also yet to grasp the nuances of capitalism.

So, does Yao think the playoffs are in his immediate future?

Absolutely, as long as the recent six-quarter trend continues. Although he candidly dissed the Magic, he added that the Rockets contributed to Orlando's miserable showing "with our defense," and said it must come on just as strong against the Trail Blazers.

"That game," he pointed out, "is just around the corner."

In the NBA, Yao has learned, the next game is always just around the corner.

Five of them remain, then maybe at least four more if, he said, "We continue to trust each other."

He also suggested the Rockets "should pray" for the Suns to lose. Which they did later Sunday night, when the Lakers rallied to win in overtime, cutting Phoenix' lead to half a game.

"They've kept the pressure on us," Cuttino Mobley said, "but we can keep the pressure on them by winning, too."

It's definitely a concept.

 

Do-it-all Mobley goes on the offensive
By MICHAEL MURPHY
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

The Rockets went retro for Sunday's home game against the Orlando Magic, breaking out the red-and-gold uniforms from their championship days and stowing the hideous duds they usually wear.

So the only unsightly thing on this day was the play of the Magic.

But for the 15,335 fans who packed Compaq Center to watch the Rockets' 114-93 trouncing of the Magic, it was all good. Especially beautiful was the play of Cuttino Mobley, who turned in a retro performance of his own against the Magic.

After concentrating on defense the past couple of games, Mobley jumped in on the offensive party Sunday night, finishing with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists.

For Mobley, the key to his game was knowing that he wasn't going to be relied upon for defense in this game. With 6-8 James Posey chasing Tracy McGrady, the league's leading scorer, Mobley was free to focus more on shooting the ball and filling the lanes on the break.

"I knew I was going to be the help man (on defense) because Posey had Tracy McGrady, so I was just trying to make things hard for my man," said Mobley, who made six of 11 field goals and all eight free throws. "By that, I mean that I was going to attack as much as possible. That worked out to our advantage."

It was a change for Mobley, who had been focusing more on making good things happen at the other end of the floor. Or, more to the point, making sure things don't happen there.

Indeed, defense has been Mobley's calling card lately. Mobley has been punching the clock, working hard to shut down Milwaukee's Gary Payton (6-of-21 shooting) and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson (4-of-23 from the field) in Houston victories.

For most players, though, defensive effort like that usually means the offensive output suffers, and Mobley is no different. In his previous five games (missing the Rockets' 110-86 loss at New Jersey with a sprained left index finger), Mobley had made only 38.8 percent of his shots (26-of-67).

But on Sunday, Mobley had his offensive game rolling from the outset -- Mobley drained a pair of baseline 3-pointers in the first two minutes that helped spark the Rockets to an 11-0 lead.

All part of the game plan, explained acting Rockets coach Larry Smith.

"We thought they would come out in a zone because they played (Saturday) night (in Dallas)," said Smith of the Magic. "We were ready for it. We worked on it diligently yesterday (Saturday) and come out and made plays. When we make shots, good things usually happen."

Not that Mobley completely abandoned defense in favor of putting the ball in the hole. Not at all.

In Sunday's game, Mobley locked up Orlando rookie Gordon Giricek, who made only one of seven shots while finishing with five points, far below his average of 12.5 points per game.

The key to Mobley's defensive prowess is that he doesn't rely solely on his physical gifts, which are many. For Mobley, the biggest part of being a good defender comes down to hitting the books -- or videotapes in this case -- studying that night's opponent.

Much like Mario Elie, another retro-Rocket who was known for his stonewalling defense, Mobley is a student of the game, spending hours poring over videotapes as he looks for any edge he can get.

"If you come over to my house, I have tapes everywhere," Mobley said. "I have tapes from when I was a rookie to now, and I watch them all the time. I just watch my movements, and I watch the man that I'm going to play. I watch the game before, like for tonight's game I watched Orlando play Dallas.

"I watched Giricek, how hard he goes to the cup and how hard McGrady goes to the cup. I'm just watching those guys, watching the plays that they make. It's just being a student and wanting to be the best at it."

 

Rockets summary

Forward retreat

Maurice Taylor did not have to wait until the last minute to find out he was coming off the bench Sunday. He assumed it and then was told Saturday that after one game starting, he would return to his role coming off the bench behind Eddie Griffin.

"When I started, I probably knew right before I started," Taylor said. "Shootaround, I went through walkthrough with the first unit. But it wasn't clear I was going to start or not."

Taylor had a solid game in the Rockets' win in Philadelphia on Friday, grabbing 11 rebounds. But acting coach Larry Smith said he chose to start Taylor because of a better matchup with the Sixers and that he returned Griffin to the starting lineup to defend the Magic's Drew Gooden.

"The matchups have a lot to do with it," Smith said. "Maurice does a good job on guys that play the perimeter, and Griff does a good job on guys on the box."

Texas triangle

The Magic's appearance at Compaq Center completed their tour of the "Texas Triangle." Orlando is the sixth team to make all three stops. The first five to complete the full triangle were 2-13 against the Rockets, Spurs and Mavericks. The Magic had lost their first two in Texas before arriving in Houston.

The SuperSonics will be the last team to play three consecutive games in Texas, with Seattle's game Saturday at Compaq Center its second game in consecutive nights after playing in San Antonio.

The triangle, however, could be broken up next season when the Hornets are expected to be moved into the Western Conference, allowing schedule makers to more often pair a team in Texas with a team in New Orleans, rather than have road trips stop in all three Texas cities.

Magic coach Doc Rivers, however, said scheduling is not really the problem.

"You can split it up, but the fact still remains, at some point, you play all three on the road," Rivers said.

-- JONATHAN FEIGEN