Ron Artest and the Houston Rockets had plenty to celebrate after Game 6 on Thursday -- a 95-80 victory over the Lakers that forced a deciding Game 7 on Sunday.
They are relaxed and confident during practice in preparation for Game 7 of playoff series with the Lakers.
By Broderick Turner
8:10 PM PDT, May 16, 2009
Sunday there will be a Game 7 played between the heavily favored Lakers and the gritty, never-quit Houston Rockets at Staples Center.
In the eyes of the suddenly sage Ron Artest, it's pretty simple to define who the winner will be.
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"I guess the best team will win," Artest said matter-of-factly after Houston's practice today at the Clippers' practice facility.
And the Rockets believe they just may be the better team, that they might pull off the upset and advance to meet the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
The Rockets were better for three games, winning twice without Yao Ming, who is out for the rest of the season because of a broken foot.
"I'm trying to be dumb about it," Aaron Brooks said. "We're lucky we made it here. We played hard and we played with passion and we're going to continue to do that. It makes no sense to come here and give a game away."
The Rockets were relaxed at practice, saying all the pressure is on the Lakers, indicating that they have nothing to lose because few gave them a chance in the first place.
"We put ourselves in this position," Coach Rick Adelman said. "Let's see what we can do with it.
"I told them that they've worked all year long. And they've pushed everything they could push to get to this point. This is where it's satisfying."
The last time the Rockets played at Staples Center, in Game 5 on Tuesday night, they lost by 40 points.
But the Rockets let go of that horrible memory, moved on to Game 6 at home and won to force this elimination game.
They jumped to a 17-1 lead and won by 15 points in Game 6.
They jumped to a 29-point lead in Game 4 at home and won by 12 points.
"We're going to have to come out and match the intensity somehow and bring what we had at home into L.A.," said Brooks, who is averaging 18.8 points and is shooting 48.1% in the best-of-seven series. "It's going to be tough to do, but it's a good opportunity."
The team that has won the first quarter has won every game.
The Rockets won Game 1 at Staples Center, so they know they can win there.
"It's going to be a fun atmosphere for the fans, I think," Artest said. "I think the fans will enjoy themselves tomorrow."
So much of the Lakers' success hinges on the exploits of Kobe Bryant.
The Rockets are fully aware of this.
They expect Bryant to come out firing.
"The good thing about it is, it's not like it's some guy we don't know that will come out firing. Like, 'Whoa, who is this guy?' We know this guy," Artest said, smiling, then laughing, another sign of how at ease the Rockets were. "This guy has been around. He's been in the NBA for 13 years. Hall of Famer. We know exactly who he is and what he's capable of and what he can do. We know. It won't be surprising. We've got to know what we're capable of doing."
The triple-shorthanded Rockets have no business even being in a Game 7 with the Lakers. ALL the pressure is on LA...the Rockets should be loose and just have fun...if they can keep it close, they might force the Lakers into mistakes and steal Game 7. We'll see how much of a factor the refs are today. GO ROX!!!
I hope that "nothing to lose" doesn't mean a 3 point barrage. If the Rockets remember to attack the basket, things might get very interesting.
Has Kobe ever played in a game 7?
yeah, ron ron!!!!
Weird..Just as I asked the question, ESPN answered it. he is 2-1.
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