ROCKETS COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY On Yao Ming: "They played him single coverage. And with single coverage he should have games like these. I think his play is an improvement on our team. He was going well and they kept going to him. The other players weren't getting anxious about their own lessening opportunities within the game. That's what team basketball should be about." On the play of Mark Jackson: "Mark Jackson played a great game on the offensive end. He kept us organized and made some terrific passes. Just a terrific job on the offensive end." On the keys to his team's victory: "I thought our defense was a little bit better in the fourth. We jumped out and got a nice cushion right at the start with (Tracy) McGrady out. McGrady was terrific tonight like he always is. They did a great job in the third quarter exposing our pick and roll defense. They made a lot of threes. We played a little better in the fourth, and it helped when their best player had to take his rest." YAO MING On the game: "My teammates gave me a lot of support today and the coaches wanted to get the ball into me. I had a lot of self confidence. Our goal is to play effective basketball and not to break records. Of course, if I can score more points I will try to score more points. t didn't want to be passive and let them come and defend me. I wanted to attack them." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JIM JACKSON On the play of Yao Ming: "They didn't show any signs of double-teaming, so we just kept running the same two or three plays (for Yao) to get him the ball. When they did double team or when our guys penetrated, we were able to get some open shots. That is like somebody doing that to Shaq. I am not saying that Yao is in that class yet, but he is dominant enough that he demands the double-team. If you are not going to double-team, then we are going to keep running the same play over and over again." On the play of Mark Jackson: "Mark understands the time to score and how to set people up. Big men are going to love that. Now, they are going to fight harder on the blocks and run harder, because they know they are going to get the ball a lot easier. It was execution, one-on-one defense, and I think we supported that." On Yao taking more shots offensively: "We did not have to convince him. He was looking very aggressive and that is a very good sign. That is a very good sign for us going into the second half of the season. Yao is feeling more comfortable and a lot more aggressive. That gives us an added edge when he plays like that." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARK JACKSON On the game: "It was a great team effort defensively and offensively in terms of executing. Offensively, we were very unselfish. The 'Big Fella' (Yao) played great. He creates havoc when he is rolling like that." On Yao Ming: "Obviously, not too many teams have a weapon like that other than the Lakers. The guy is so big and skilled. It is unbelievable. He is a big guy with great hands, great touch, and he makes you look good." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAGIC COACH JOHNNY DAVIS On the game: "We got beat by a very good Houston Rockets basketball team. The big guy that they have really makes a difference for them---frees them up quite a bit. Also, I thought Maurice Taylor hurt us tonight. Another guy who they had both boxes on and just kinda beat us on the interior. I thought we competed throughout the game—we weren’t able to sustain it for 48 minutes but we’ll go to the drawing board and get ready for Cleveland (Cavaliers) tomorrow night." On double-teaming Yao Ming: "Our game plan was to double-team Yao on the dribble but we were late getting there tonight. If he was deep, obviously it was too late but if he was coming two or three dribbles we were supposed to double-team him on the first dribble as he started his way back tot the post." On what he said to Andrew DeClerq: "Hold your ground as best you can. Obviously there’s a physical difference between Yao and our centers. Hold your ground as best you can and we were going to give him help on the dribble which really didn’t get there the way it should have." On whether they are “giving up” on this season and working towards next year: "Never give up. That’s the way we are and we’re going to go into Cleveland tomorrow in search of a win. I think that’s the way you have to be. I don’t think you can ever give up and just say ‘well, we’re going to bag this season’. I don’t think that does anybody any good." On Reece Gaines: "Well Reece Gaines, as you know, was activated tonight and certainly as we move along and depending on the game and the situation there may be some opportunities for him. We’re very familiar with Reece, we think he’s going to be a player in this league but it’s going to take some time." On the Rockets: "I think it speaks to their depth that a guy like (Steve) Francis can not score in the first half and come back in the second half and only score 7 points. But they have a guy like (Maurice) Taylor who can hurt you for 20 and Yao he hurts you inside so they have quite a bit of depth on that team in terms of scoring potential. So if they lose one guy in their scoring arsenal, it doesn’t really affect the way they play." On Keith Bogans' injury: "It’s a contusion, I think it’s on his thigh. He wasn’t able to come back in the second half. I think it’s a day-to-day situation. We’ll find out more a little bit later." On the play of Yao Ming: "He’s been playing good basketball coming into tonight’s contest. I think he’s really finding his comfort level with the NBA and I thought tonight, he was just tough to stop. Especially one on one he’s almost impossible to stop. Still, even when we went down there he shot over the top of guys. The guy’s 7-6 and our big guys are 6-9, 6-10. So he shot over the top even when we got the double team. His presence in the middle affects what you do offensively. The fact that a 7-6 guy is standing there certainly impacts the way you drive to the basket. You don’t get free looks when you go in there."
