[Quotes] JASON TERRY on Yao :"An animal. He is playing like a beast"

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Post_Game_Quotes_031506-172213-822.html


ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY
(on whether this team can shoot well against a team of Dallas' caliber) "Well, it doesn't matter...me predicting one way or another, it's a matter of what you do. We surely didn't shoot well enough to win tonight. I don't think that precludes us from shooting well enough to win."

(on whether Yao Ming's play tonight is what is expected from him) "No, we can expect much better from him defensively and on the boards. He had one rebound in the 2nd half and he was not active defensively. He's been playing great on offense, really great, and he's not been as good on the boards or defensively in the last 3 games."

YAO MING

(on whether poor shooting led to the team's breakdown in the 2nd half) "I have to go and watch the film, but I believe my teammates took quality shots. Those shots were good shots and some of them were wide open. I still think we need to defend the pick and roll better. They (Dallas) play the pick and roll very well with (Dirk) Nowitzki."

(on his carrying the load for the team) "During the game, I'm focused. I'm trying to score or rebound or do whatever the team needs me to do."

RAFER ALSTON

(on how the Rockets can snap their losing streak) "You've got to defend first. The only way other guys get involved is if we defend and rebound and we run and race it up the court. We have to put more energy into getting fast break points. Other than that, we're going to go to Yao (Ming) and go to Yao (Ming) and go to Yao (Ming). We have to knock down open shots when Yao (Ming) is drawing double-teams and triple-teams and he's passing the ball out. We have to find a way to knock down open shots for him."

(on whether or not the Rockets are relying on Yao Ming too much) "If you've got a dominant big guy, that's the game, inside out. You're posting him and he's scoring. He's playing at a high level right now and we're going to continue to go to him. I think for the rest of us, we have to find a way to help him out. We have to knock down basketball shots and open shots that we're taking, we have to find a way to consistently knock them down."

(on why the Mavericks are so troublesome to the Rockets) "They pose mismatches all over the floor and they're a smart team. They're going to go to the mismatches and make you defend that. They're going to put you in rotation situations. If you can't close out to them and stop them from catching and shooting the 3, then you're going to be in for a long night."

(on what the Rockets are doing wrong during this losing streak) "It's tough, but I think we're making it tough on ourselves. We're giving up fast break points, we're letting guys do whatever they want to do on the floor, we're not making it tough on them, we're not bumping them, we're turning the ball over at a high level, especially myself. We're making it tough on ourselves as well as playing tough teams. When you're playing tough teams, you have to find a way to make it easy on yourself and try to get shots at the basket every time down."

LUTHER HEAD

(on the Rockets' making the game competitive in the 2nd half) "We had confidence throughout the game. We were confident going through that stretch. We started making shots, Yao (Ming) was doing well."

(on whether the Rockets need to give Yao Ming more help offensively) "It's about Yao (Ming) and we have to give Yao (Ming) the ball. That's a given, but we've got to step up. We're taking the right shots, but we've got to start knocking them down."

DALLAS MAVERICKS HEAD COACH AVERY JOHNSON

(on the game) "Obviously, we needed to come out and play well. We struggled to guard Yao (Ming) in the first half but made it a lot tougher on him in the second. Yao (Ming) is playing the best basketball I've seen since after his surgery. We were fortunate to hold Houston off after they made their run. Overall it was a pretty good defensive effort on our part."

(on Rawle Marshall) "Nobody knows his name now and we'll see what happens in the long run. He's a rookie and may not get off the bench next game. We thought the defensive effort he gave us on Luther Head was very important."

(on Dirk Nowitzki) "Dirk battles every game for us. There is not one coach that would not want him on their team."

(on the team's injuries) "I never give the team an opportunity to make excuses because of injuries. This is the NBA and every team has injuries at this time of the season."

DIRK NOWITZKI

(on the Mavericks) "We're obviously going through a tough stretch right now, a lot of injuries, being on the road, our fourth game in five nights.
It's good we have a deep team. Rawle Marshall played a great game tonight."

(on Yao Ming) "He's been playing phenomenal since the All Star break. His turnaround is money. He is so big and so skilled."

JASON TERRY

(on the team's recent play) "Under the circumstances I think we are doing quite well. We are doing the same things as if we had all our guys healthy.
Nothing really affects us. There are no excuses. Everyone is hurt in this league."

(on Yao Ming's play) "An animal. He is playing like a beast. He is playing real aggressive. This is the best I have seen him play since he's been in the league."

JERRY STACKHOUSE

(on the team's playoff position) "We want to win every game we play and don't worry about what San Antonio does. We are a playoff team and either way we will line up against somebody. It would be great to be the number one seed but we have to prepare and be ready as a team. We have some concerns but the positives are some of the others guys are getting to step up."

(on Yao Ming) "We don't worry about Yao (Ming). He and Tracy (McGrady) can get a hundred but they still can't beat us if we keep the other guys in check. This is the best I have ever seen him play. He's the best center in the NBA right now on one end (offensive) of the court. Every team has to focus on him more than any other center in the NBA, even Shaq (O'Neal)."

ERICK DAMPIER

(on defending Yao Ming) "We tried to give him different looks in the second half. Sometimes double-team him but always contest him whenever he took a shot. He made two real tough shots in the second half."

(on how many points he got in the second half) "Seven."

RAWLE MARSHALL

(on his play) "There are a lot of guys injured on the team and I wanted to come out and play hard. I wanted to focus on defense and I tried to play tough defensively and my offense came off that. It made me feel good and I had to be ready when the coach gave me the opportunity."

 

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rocket_Lose_Third_Straight-172215-822.html

3.15.06
Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks
Rockets 81 | Mavs 95
Game Recap


Yao Ming scored 36 points tonight, while Dallas’ starting center, DeSagana Diop, was scoreless in 10:25 of playing time. It was the fourth time in the last 13 months that Yao scored at least 30 points in a game in which his counterpart was scoreless. No other center had done it even once during that time.

Luther Head had a career-high four steals tonight, surpassing his previous best of three done seven times this season (last: 3/3/06 vs. Denver).

Keith Bogans had a season-high six assists tonight, just missing his career best of seven helpers set at New York (1/14/04).

Yao Ming upped his current streak to four consecutive 30-point outings at Toyota Center: 32 vs. Portland (3/5), 38 vs. Indiana (3/8), 36 vs. New Jersey (3/13) and 36 tonight. He also finished with 12 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season.


Carmine Pirone-Rockets.com

Despite 36 points and 12 rebounds from Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets lost their third straight game Wednesday, this time to Dallas Mavericks 95-81 in front of a sellout crowd at Toyota Center. Houston falls to 29-36 on the season, while the Mavericks improve to 51-14.

Yao scored 27 of his 36 points in a first half that saw him record a double-double in the first 24 minutes of action. By clearing 11 boards, Yao secured at least 10 points and 10 rebounds by halftime for the second time this season and sixth time during his career. He pulled 12 rebounds for the game

Yao shot 8-10 from the field in the first half Wednesday, while going 11-14 from the charity stripe. In contrast, the Mavericks as a team only made 11 trips to the foul line during the first two quarters.

The Mavericks came out determined to slow Yao down in the second half and the Rockets main scoring threat was only able to hoist seven shots in the final two quarters, many of those over two and three defenders.

Like it’s been in every game without Tracy McGrady this season, Houston once again had difficulty replacing T-Mac’s offensive production. For the second straight game Rafer Alston was the only other Rockets player other than Yao to score in double-figures. Alston chipped in 18 points and briefly caught fire from behind the arc in the fourth quarter, fueling a 10-point run that shrunk an 18 point third-quarter deficit to as little as six before the Rockets relented down the stretch. Dallas outscored Houston 12-4 over the final six minutes of the game win running away.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 30 points and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes of action for a Dallas team that shot 52 percent from the field on the night.

It didn’t take long for Dallas to take control Wednesday. With the Rockets leading 8-6 early in the first quarter, Dallas reeled off 12 straight points to take a 10-point lead at 18-8.

Houston would get only as close as five the rest of the game. Yao dominated early scoring Houston’s first 12 points on his way to 13 in the first quarter. Juwan Howard (6 points) was the only other Rockets player to score in the period and Houston found itself down 28-19 after the first 12 minutes of action.

While the offense wasn’t awful, the Rockets shot 40 percent, the defense left a lot to be desired. Dallas shot 60 percent from the field in the first quarter. The Mavericks were led in the opening period by Jason Terry, who scored 10 of his 19 points in the first quarter via a 4-6 performance from the field.

Things didn’t improve from there. Dallas increased its nine point first-quarter lead to 12 by halftime and was still shooting 60 percent as the two teams headed to the locker room.

Houston managed to stay within striking distance by shooting 60 percent in the second quarter on 9-15 shooting. The Rockets didn’t let the Mavericks pull away until midway through the third quarter.

Leading 65-57, Dallas went on a 8-0 run that swelled its lead to 16, which the Mavericks would eventually run to 18 points before the Rockets stopped the bleeding.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Dallas scored first making the score 81-64, seemingly putting the game out of reach. Houston responded with a 13-2 run, fueled by 10 Rafer Alston points, to get within six points at 83-77, with about six and a half minutes to go in the game.

Nowitzki answered, scoring six of Dallas’ next 12 points to close out the game. The Rockets managed only four points over the same stretch to fall 95-81, their 19th setback at Toyota Center this season.

The Rockets return to action Saturday when they host the San Antonio Spurs at 7:30 p.m. The game can be seen locally on FSN Houston and coast-to-coast on NBATV.