tlongII
04-28-2014, 08:30 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2014/04/rockets_running_out_of_time_after_they_gave_away_t .html#incart_big-photo
http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/pgmain/img/oregonian/photo/2014/04/-d855ad46ee3f321a.JPG
Wesley Matthews secures a victory by stealing the ball from Patrick Beverly.
In the final minute of regulation Sunday at the Moda Center, Houston had a 104-102 lead, and the Trail Blazers’ Nicolas Batum missed a three-pointer with 33.9 seconds left.
Rockets guard Jeremy Lin got the rebound. Coach Kevin McHale’s plan was simple: If the Rockets saw an opening for a fast break, they should take it. But if not, they should call timeout.
Instead, Lin dribbled up court and was stripped by Portland’s Mo Williams, who after a wild scramble got the ball back and made a three-pointer that gave Portland the lead.
Although the Rockets came back to force overtime, they lost 123-120 and came away feeling as if they blew yet another opportunity to take a win. Now they return to Houston down 3-1, needing to win three games in a row to take a series they were favored in.
After the game, a dejected, exhausted-looking Rockets coach Kevin McHale pointed to Lin’s mistake as being typical of the little things his team let slide as they tried to close out a win that would have tied the series.
“You couldn’t be any clearer than clear break or timeout,” McHale said. “But that’s not his fault. He made basketball plays. I’m just saying that that was typical of kind of what we did tonight.”
The Rockets played well for much of the game and led by 10 at halftime, 11 in the third quarter. But the Blazers, as they did in Game 1, came roaring back in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
“Couple possessions, man, couple silly mistakes, couple mental lapses late in the game,” guard James Harden said. “We take the lead, we gotta take care of the basketball come down and hit a good shot. It’s kinda frustrating.”
In the locker room, the Rockets seemed to spout affirmations more than provide answers to what they can do to somehow pull out the series.
“The series is not over,” point guard Patrick Beverley said. “I know a lot of people count us out, but there’s still a lot of games to go.”
Said Harden: “Now it’s you gotta win or you go home. That’s the definition of it. We basically gave away two games, Game 1 and this game. We gotta go home and protect home court.”
Center Dwight Howard: “We gotta stay positive right now. We can’t hang our heads. We can’t quit. We’re not going to allow negativity to seep into our minds.”
The Rockets seemed ready to get the series’ first blowout win after a strong first half in which they pounded the boards to turn eight offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points. But they scored just one more second-chance point the rest of regulation. Asked why, McHale all but sighed a short answer.
“We didn’t get ’em,” he said. “You gotta go get ’em.”
Forward Chandler Parson had a huge first half, scoring 19 points and shooting 8 for 11 from the field, but had seven points in the second half and was scoreless in overtime. At times, the Rockets’ offense — which seemed to loosen up in their victory here in Game 3 — stagnated, with Harden at times holding the ball for long stretches before making a one-on-one move.
“We didn’t execute very well,” McHale said. “We held the ball way too often. We didn’t attack enough. We had a ton of opportunities.”
With the offense bogged down, McHale turned to Howard in the post late, especially after Blazers center Robin Lopez fouled out. Although Howard finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds, he took just 14 shots from the field, making seven, but to McHale, Howard was the one Houston player showing any force.
“Dwight was being aggressive, we didn’t have much aggression today,” McHale said. “Again. Trying to find some things offensively, especially down the stretch, that could click for us, and gave everybody kind of a shot, and I just felt at that time that Dwight was our best bet down there at the block.”
Howard scored on a ferocious dunk with 3.6 seconds left to send the game to overtime, and McHale went to his center repeatedly in overtime. Although he scored six points, Howard also twice lost the ball in the post.
The series has intensified discussion about the ability of Harden and Howard to function together offensively. They looked good in Game 3 when they repeatedly ran pick-and-rolls together, but that was missing Sunday. Asked about Howard getting the bulk of the touches down the stretch, Harden said:
“He had it going a little bit, and that was the opportunity for them to double him and just play off him a little bit,” Harden said. “Just kind of mixing it up.”
Some of the narrative around the Rockets has turned to their youth. Age-wise, they are the youngest team in the playoffs. Asked if youth is an obstacle, Howard — who with nine years in the league is the team’s elder statesman — mentioned teammates Josh Powell and Francisco Garcia as players who understand not to take things for granted. It’s a lesson he implied his younger teammates need to grasp.
“They don’t understand it,” Howard said. “At the same time, that’s why it takes guys like Francisco, Josh Powell, myself to know that nothing is promised. Guys who’ve been in the league for 15, 16 years didn’t get a ring. … Nothing’s promised, you know. We can’t take any moment, any series, any team, any minute on the court for granted. You gotta go at it. You gotta stay focused. You gotta stay positive.”
McHale, who battled in so many classic playoff series during his playing days with the Boston Celtics, tried to muster some positivity as he rose from his postgame news conference.
“The good news is, we get to go back to Houston," he said, "and then we do battle again on Wednesday.”
http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/pgmain/img/oregonian/photo/2014/04/-d855ad46ee3f321a.JPG
Wesley Matthews secures a victory by stealing the ball from Patrick Beverly.
In the final minute of regulation Sunday at the Moda Center, Houston had a 104-102 lead, and the Trail Blazers’ Nicolas Batum missed a three-pointer with 33.9 seconds left.
Rockets guard Jeremy Lin got the rebound. Coach Kevin McHale’s plan was simple: If the Rockets saw an opening for a fast break, they should take it. But if not, they should call timeout.
Instead, Lin dribbled up court and was stripped by Portland’s Mo Williams, who after a wild scramble got the ball back and made a three-pointer that gave Portland the lead.
Although the Rockets came back to force overtime, they lost 123-120 and came away feeling as if they blew yet another opportunity to take a win. Now they return to Houston down 3-1, needing to win three games in a row to take a series they were favored in.
After the game, a dejected, exhausted-looking Rockets coach Kevin McHale pointed to Lin’s mistake as being typical of the little things his team let slide as they tried to close out a win that would have tied the series.
“You couldn’t be any clearer than clear break or timeout,” McHale said. “But that’s not his fault. He made basketball plays. I’m just saying that that was typical of kind of what we did tonight.”
The Rockets played well for much of the game and led by 10 at halftime, 11 in the third quarter. But the Blazers, as they did in Game 1, came roaring back in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
“Couple possessions, man, couple silly mistakes, couple mental lapses late in the game,” guard James Harden said. “We take the lead, we gotta take care of the basketball come down and hit a good shot. It’s kinda frustrating.”
In the locker room, the Rockets seemed to spout affirmations more than provide answers to what they can do to somehow pull out the series.
“The series is not over,” point guard Patrick Beverley said. “I know a lot of people count us out, but there’s still a lot of games to go.”
Said Harden: “Now it’s you gotta win or you go home. That’s the definition of it. We basically gave away two games, Game 1 and this game. We gotta go home and protect home court.”
Center Dwight Howard: “We gotta stay positive right now. We can’t hang our heads. We can’t quit. We’re not going to allow negativity to seep into our minds.”
The Rockets seemed ready to get the series’ first blowout win after a strong first half in which they pounded the boards to turn eight offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points. But they scored just one more second-chance point the rest of regulation. Asked why, McHale all but sighed a short answer.
“We didn’t get ’em,” he said. “You gotta go get ’em.”
Forward Chandler Parson had a huge first half, scoring 19 points and shooting 8 for 11 from the field, but had seven points in the second half and was scoreless in overtime. At times, the Rockets’ offense — which seemed to loosen up in their victory here in Game 3 — stagnated, with Harden at times holding the ball for long stretches before making a one-on-one move.
“We didn’t execute very well,” McHale said. “We held the ball way too often. We didn’t attack enough. We had a ton of opportunities.”
With the offense bogged down, McHale turned to Howard in the post late, especially after Blazers center Robin Lopez fouled out. Although Howard finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds, he took just 14 shots from the field, making seven, but to McHale, Howard was the one Houston player showing any force.
“Dwight was being aggressive, we didn’t have much aggression today,” McHale said. “Again. Trying to find some things offensively, especially down the stretch, that could click for us, and gave everybody kind of a shot, and I just felt at that time that Dwight was our best bet down there at the block.”
Howard scored on a ferocious dunk with 3.6 seconds left to send the game to overtime, and McHale went to his center repeatedly in overtime. Although he scored six points, Howard also twice lost the ball in the post.
The series has intensified discussion about the ability of Harden and Howard to function together offensively. They looked good in Game 3 when they repeatedly ran pick-and-rolls together, but that was missing Sunday. Asked about Howard getting the bulk of the touches down the stretch, Harden said:
“He had it going a little bit, and that was the opportunity for them to double him and just play off him a little bit,” Harden said. “Just kind of mixing it up.”
Some of the narrative around the Rockets has turned to their youth. Age-wise, they are the youngest team in the playoffs. Asked if youth is an obstacle, Howard — who with nine years in the league is the team’s elder statesman — mentioned teammates Josh Powell and Francisco Garcia as players who understand not to take things for granted. It’s a lesson he implied his younger teammates need to grasp.
“They don’t understand it,” Howard said. “At the same time, that’s why it takes guys like Francisco, Josh Powell, myself to know that nothing is promised. Guys who’ve been in the league for 15, 16 years didn’t get a ring. … Nothing’s promised, you know. We can’t take any moment, any series, any team, any minute on the court for granted. You gotta go at it. You gotta stay focused. You gotta stay positive.”
McHale, who battled in so many classic playoff series during his playing days with the Boston Celtics, tried to muster some positivity as he rose from his postgame news conference.
“The good news is, we get to go back to Houston," he said, "and then we do battle again on Wednesday.”