ISIAH THOMAS, "Yao was great! We couldn't do anything with him"

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Game_Quotes_Rockets_103_Knic-195041-34.html

They Said It ...

Game Quotes: Rockets 103, Knicks 94

ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY

(on the game) "I just thought in general I liked our readiness to start both halves. I thought that was good. It gave us a little cushion both times, in the 1st and the 3rd (quarters)."

(on whether this was the best showing by Yao Ming) "In some areas, but in other areas not. He'll continue to strive to do what he does really well and we're going to continue to strive to work on those areas that will help us if he can improve a little bit."

(on the adjustments by Tracy McGrady to the defense against him) "I give Quentin Richardson a lot of credit. He's a very good competitor; he defended Tracy (McGrady) well last year as well and yet the thing I like about Mac (Tracy McGrady) is if something's working, he'll just keep going to it. We like that part of it."

(on the Rockets' current schedule) "I think every game is hard in this league, I really do. Every team poses problems. You worry about the opponent because you've got to play them. I just think we've got to play and try to improve. If we do that, play good basketball, don't turn it over 19 times, share it and work at it, just try real hard. That's what I want to see. Who we play I'm not really as concerned with it."

TRACY McGRADY

(on the shot-blocking of Yao Ming tonight) "I thought he did a great job of blocking shots, keeping it in play. Not only was he blocking shots, but he was staying out of foul trouble when he was blocking shots. I've said it before, he's the best center in the league. I don't care who you try to match-up against him, I don't care who you say is the most dominant. Number
11 on my team, hands down is the best center in the league."

(on Yao Ming's progress) "He's come a long way. He has worked extremely hard and he wants to be great. I've seen an improvement from my 1st year to this year. It's crazy to me because if I go out and have a sub-par game and I don't shoot the ball well or play well and I get 13 points, every team I've been on, we're going to lose the game. The role is kind of reversed now. I'm the distributor now and I like that role."

(on the defensive strategy of the Knicks, double-teaming Yao Ming in certain
situations) "Tonight they tried it (double-teaming) and then he (Yao MIng) kicked it out and we were knocking down 3s, so it's kind of like pick your poison. Which do you want? Yao (Ming) to kill you inside or us getting great looks outside?"

YAO MING

(on his shot-blocking) "I played well, but I tried to both rebound well and block shots. We had more energy on the defensive side."

(on his overall play tonight) "I think the last couple of games I've played smarter and I've been able to stay out of foul trouble. I think also I've done a better job of running the floor. When they (Knicks) come in with new guys guarding me, that's when I feel like I have success."

(on the failure of the Rockets to shut down opponents after gaining a large
lead) "The last couple of nights, we were able to start very well, but tonight I don't think we finished very well. We let them come back."

(on his defense of Eddy Curry) "I tried different ways to defend. Eddy Curry is a very big body. He's very strong. I have to keep my body on him. I was trying different ways to defend to save myself."

RAFER ALSTON

(on the play of Yao Ming) "Amazing. The big fella is playing awesome. He's carrying us right now. He's picking up a heavy scoring load, especially in the 3rd quarter the last 2 games. He really took it to them tonight."

(on the play of Tracy McGrady) "Tracy (McGrady) only got 12 looks, but Tracy
(McGrady) shared the ball. He had 8 assists tonight, so that showed his versatility. That shows what kind of player he is. He is an unselfish star and whenever you have a chance to play with an unselfish star, you love it.
He was unselfish tonight. He could have taken 24 shots. We could have found a bunch of sets to run (for Tracy McGrady)."

(on his own play) "The 1st half was a little bit of a struggle, but I kept playing, but what the team and coaches stress is for me to trust the shot.
Trust the shot you've been working on all summer and in the 2nd half, I got it going."

SHANE BATTIER

(on the play of Yao Ming) "Like I was telling someone earlier, he's a worker. He's the 1st one to practice every day and he's one of the last ones to leave. Players don't become dominant like he is becoming by watching highlights on ESPN. He's a worker, he has great work ethic and it's great to see a person work hard and see the fruits of their labor. But, knowing him, he'll be here again tomorrow working out and he will continue to get better."

(on the Yao Ming's play from the time he started in the NBA to today) "I think he understands his size now. As crazy as that sounds, I think early on, obviously he was the biggest guy on the floor, but I don't think he always believed he was the biggest guy on the floor. He knows how to use his height as his strength to create advantages."

(on the win) "It's a very good win for us. This is a team (Knicks) that if they get confidence, they are capable of beating anyone in this league because of the talent that they have. These are dangerous games, especially at home. These are games that you have to win at home if you want to climb in the standings. The guys came out focused tonight, we were full of concentration and we were able to get the win."

NEW YORK KNICKS HEAD COACH ISIAH THOMAS

(on the key to the game) "Yao was great! We couldn't do anything with him.
We didn't want both of them, Tracy (McGrady) and Yao (Ming), to go off and we did a good job on Tracy (McGrady), but not on Yao (Ming). Yao (Ming) really had his rhythm all game. Yao (Ming) is everything they say he is. He was exceptional tonight. When big guys get into that kind of rhythm, they are very hard to stop."

(on Eddy Curry's play) "He was out of rhythm and his timing wasn't good at all. Even if he was in rhythm, Yao (Ming) would have probably still have had a big game."

(on his team's play) "I am really proud of how really hard we fight every game and I told my players that. There is a lot of fight in our guys and they are a very resilient bunch. Right now we don't need to focus on our losses because if we keep playing this hard we are going to get better as the season goes on."

QUENTIN RICHARDSON

(on the Knicks play) "Definitely our team is going to keep fighting hard and gain respect and try to pull out some of those games. Against good teams you can't dig yourself such a big hole and always expect to come back and get a win. We truly believe we can play with anybody in this league if we play hard."

(on Yao Ming's play) "Yao (Ming) was unbelievable! He got going early and never slowed down."

EDDY CURRY

(on playing against Yao Ming) "It's definitely very frustrating to get your shot blocked like that and I have to learn to get over it. When somebody gets you like that, it's very tough mentally. That is the best I have ever seen him (Yao Ming) play. You can't block his shot and the feeling is unbelievable. He was in an unbelievable rhythm and you have to take your hat off to him. He was unstoppable."

DAVID LEE

(on defending Yao Ming) "It's unbelievable playing against him because he is such a tough match-up because of his size. He gets very good position and I just tried to work around him as much as I could. Because of the extra three or four inches, you can't block his shot. I'll do better the next time because I got to play against him tonight."

 

Yep, it's included in the recap below:

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Yao_dazzles_home_crowd_again_i-195042-34.html



Yao dazzles the home crowd again

HOUSTON -- Before tip-off on Friday night, the Rockets' public address announcer revealed that Yao Ming once again has a section known as "Yao's House" inside Toyota Center.

The franchise might need to rename the entire building after the moniker if the big man keeps up his dominating pace inside the arena.

Behind another dazzling performance from their star center, the Rockets once again cruised to a home win with a 103-94 victory over the New York Knicks.

The Rockets (4-2) picked up their third consecutive win in front of packed house of 18,109 fans, marking the team's first back-to-back sell outs since the 1998-99 season.

The crowd was once again treated to impressive showing from Yao. The center had 35 points, a season-high 17 rebounds and matched a career-high with seven blocked shots.

Yao is so far averaging 35.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game on his home court.

Who does Toyota Center belong to?

"I've said it before," Rockets swingman Tracy McGrady said. "He's the best center in the league. I don't care who you try to matchup against him or who you say is the best center. My guy, No. 11 on my team, is hands-down the best."

The Knicks tried everything to slow down the center, using as many as six different defenders.

Eddy Curry opened the game guarding Yao, but New York coach Isiah Thomas got so desperate in the end that he even turned to 208-pound forward Renaldo Balkman in hopes of slowing down Yao with quickness.

No one had much luck.

The Rockets center made 15-of-21 shots from the field and didn't have any trouble shooting over defenders or backing his way to the bucket.

He simply made everything.

"I think the last couple of games, I've played smarter and I've been able to stay out of foul trouble," Yao said. "I think also I've done a better job of running the floor. When the (Knicks) come in with new guys guarding me, that's when I feel like I have success."

Yao was even more dominating on the defensive end, where he made Curry look uncomfortable all night.

Curry, who had seven points, made only two of 11 shots from the field. The majority of those misses didn't seem to get past Yao as the center consistently blocked his opponent's shot.

"It's definitely very frustrating to get your shot blocked like that and I have to learn to get over it," Curry said. "When somebody gets you like that, it's very tough mentally. That is the best I have ever seen (Yao) play. You can't block his shot and the feeling is unbelievable. He was in an unbelievable rhythm and you have to take your hat off to him. He was unstoppable."

Yao was so good in fact that he actually blocked Curry twice during one possession in the second quarter.

"If I was (Eddy) Curry, I would not challenge Yao," Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo said. "I would not challenge Yao and get that ball blocked. That was just embarrassing. He was trying to get himself on Sportscenter."

The Rockets, which trailed only briefly in the early stages of the first quarter, shot a season-best 54.8 percent from the field. The team also made 11 three-pointers when the Knicks were able to force Yao to pass out of a double-team.

Yao was simply the most dominating player in the building.

"Amazing," Rockets point guard Rafer Alston said. "The big fella is playing awesome. He's carrying us right now. He's picking up a heavy scoring load, especially in the third quarter the last 2 games. He really took it to them tonight."