duncan228
11-16-2007, 04:24 PM
Moving on...
http://www.nba.com/games/20071116/HOUSAS/preview.html
Rockets-Spurs Preview
By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA, STATS Senior Writer
Houston beat the San Antonio Spurs last week without a big scoring game from Tracy McGrady. Now, the Rockets will have to find a way to top their Southwest Division rivals without any points from their star swingman.
With McGrady nursing a strained right elbow, the Rockets look to continue their recent success against the Spurs when the teams continue their season series Friday night.
Houston handed San Antonio its first loss of the season on Nov. 6, winning 89-81 despite getting what had been a season-low 12 points from McGrady.
The only game McGrady has scored fewer points in was a 93-90 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The seven-time All-Star had nine points in 19 minutes before hurting his elbow late in the first half, and the injury is expected to keep him sidelined for about a week.
"It's definitely good news," said McGrady, who was leading the NBA with 29.0 points per game before Wednesday's game. "I actually thought it could have been a lot worse than it was."
McGrady's scoring has been crucial for Houston (6-3), which was leaning on its star as it continues to adjust to Rick Adelman's offense. McGrady will likely be replaced by Bonzi Wells, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds in a season-high 40 minutes against the Lakers.
Wells had 14 points and 15 rebounds off the bench in this season's first matchup with San Antonio (7-2), helping Houston win for the third time in four games against its division rivals following a seven-game losing streak against them.
No team has reached 100 points in this series since the Spurs beat the Rockets 102-78 on April 4, 2002.
San Antonio, however, gave up 100 points for just the second time this season Thursday night, losing 105-92 to Dallas as its four-game winning streak ended. The only other time the Spurs allowed 100 points was in a 104-101 over Memphis on Oct. 31.
San Antonio allowed 33 points in the first quarter and 59 in the first half against Dallas, its worst marks in any quarter and any half this season.
"We had a terrible first quarter," said San Antonio guard Tony Parker, who scored a season-low seven points on 1-of-11 shooting. "We dug ourselves a hole and we couldn't recover. We gave them too many easy shots."
A bright spot for the Spurs was Tim Duncan's bounce-back game. Coming off a five-point, 2-for-13 performance in a win over the Lakers, Duncan scored 24 points on 11-of-21 shooting against the Mavericks.
Duncan left with 3:42 to go after landing awkwardly on his left knee, but that was likely precautionary.
"I'll be fine (Friday)," he said.
Duncan was held to 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting in this season's first matchup with the Rockets. He will likely be matched up again in the paint with Houston's Yao Ming for much of this game, helping third-year center Fabricio Oberto.
Yao had 28 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocks last week against San Antonio. It was his best scoring effort against the Spurs, and he will be expected to carry the load again Friday with McGrady out.
http://www.nba.com/games/20071116/HOUSAS/preview.html
Rockets-Spurs Preview
By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA, STATS Senior Writer
Houston beat the San Antonio Spurs last week without a big scoring game from Tracy McGrady. Now, the Rockets will have to find a way to top their Southwest Division rivals without any points from their star swingman.
With McGrady nursing a strained right elbow, the Rockets look to continue their recent success against the Spurs when the teams continue their season series Friday night.
Houston handed San Antonio its first loss of the season on Nov. 6, winning 89-81 despite getting what had been a season-low 12 points from McGrady.
The only game McGrady has scored fewer points in was a 93-90 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The seven-time All-Star had nine points in 19 minutes before hurting his elbow late in the first half, and the injury is expected to keep him sidelined for about a week.
"It's definitely good news," said McGrady, who was leading the NBA with 29.0 points per game before Wednesday's game. "I actually thought it could have been a lot worse than it was."
McGrady's scoring has been crucial for Houston (6-3), which was leaning on its star as it continues to adjust to Rick Adelman's offense. McGrady will likely be replaced by Bonzi Wells, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds in a season-high 40 minutes against the Lakers.
Wells had 14 points and 15 rebounds off the bench in this season's first matchup with San Antonio (7-2), helping Houston win for the third time in four games against its division rivals following a seven-game losing streak against them.
No team has reached 100 points in this series since the Spurs beat the Rockets 102-78 on April 4, 2002.
San Antonio, however, gave up 100 points for just the second time this season Thursday night, losing 105-92 to Dallas as its four-game winning streak ended. The only other time the Spurs allowed 100 points was in a 104-101 over Memphis on Oct. 31.
San Antonio allowed 33 points in the first quarter and 59 in the first half against Dallas, its worst marks in any quarter and any half this season.
"We had a terrible first quarter," said San Antonio guard Tony Parker, who scored a season-low seven points on 1-of-11 shooting. "We dug ourselves a hole and we couldn't recover. We gave them too many easy shots."
A bright spot for the Spurs was Tim Duncan's bounce-back game. Coming off a five-point, 2-for-13 performance in a win over the Lakers, Duncan scored 24 points on 11-of-21 shooting against the Mavericks.
Duncan left with 3:42 to go after landing awkwardly on his left knee, but that was likely precautionary.
"I'll be fine (Friday)," he said.
Duncan was held to 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting in this season's first matchup with the Rockets. He will likely be matched up again in the paint with Houston's Yao Ming for much of this game, helping third-year center Fabricio Oberto.
Yao had 28 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocks last week against San Antonio. It was his best scoring effort against the Spurs, and he will be expected to carry the load again Friday with McGrady out.