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and who will be there right behind the rockets bench
me!
San Antonio (43-21) at Houston (43-24) Preview
Game info: 8:30 pm EDT Sat Mar 14, 2009
TV: KENS, KTXH
By Dan Pieringer
The San Antonio Spurs fell short in their last outing against the only team ahead of them in the Western Conference standings. They hope to fare better against the team right behind them.
The Spurs look to tighten their hold on the Southwest Division lead and second place in the West when they visit the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
San Antonio (43-21) had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 102-95 loss to the conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. Tony Parker and Michael Finley scored 25 points apiece and the Spurs shot 52.1 percent as a team, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 35-17 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
“We couldn’t get anything done offensively, and defensively they made every shot (early),” Parker said. “After that we were in a big hole, and against the Lakers it’s tough to come back.”
The Spurs will try to avoid another slow start against the Rockets (43-24), who have won 12 of 15 to pull within 1 1/2 games of San Antonio.
Houston bounced back from its own loss to Los Angeles by taking a 91-86 win at Charlotte on Friday night. Yao Ming had 23 points and went 9-for-11 from the field, including his first 3-pointer in six years with time running out on the shot clock with 2:12 left in the game. The shot helped save the Rockets from a late collapse highlighted by turnovers on consecutive possessions in the final 1:12.
Yao, who’s 2-for-10 lifetime from behind the arc, says he’s not ready to add long-range shooting to his repertoire.
“Not really,” he said. “I think I’m good in the post.”
Yao, though, has been limited in Houston’s first two meetings with San Antonio, averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds as the Southwest rivals split those games. Spurs forward Tim Duncan, meanwhile, has averaged 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds against the Rockets.
Duncan scored 22 and played stellar defense down the stretch as San Antonio overcame a 14-point deficit to steal a 77-75 home win over Houston on Nov. 14. The Spurs outscored the Rockets 22-13 in the fourth quarter and held them scoreless over the final 4:44 in that game.
The Rockets responded by routing the Spurs 103-84 at home two weeks later. Yao had just 12 points and one rebound in 28 minutes, but seven Houston players reached double figures in scoring and the Rockets held the Spurs to 37.7 percent shooting in their third straight home win over San Antonio.
Duncan and the Spurs will have some help inside with Drew Gooden healthy for the first time since signing with the team last Friday. Gooden had played only one game - with Sacramento - since Jan. 19 because of a groin injury before making his Spurs debut Thursday. He had two points and four rebounds in three-plus minutes against the Lakers.
“He looked like he’s been here all year,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s a pro. He knows it’s basketball, it’s not real difficult. He’s played it long enough and he plays well.”
Gooden will likely get more playing time as he gets more accustomed to the Spurs’ system. He could be particularly useful in the paint against the 7-foot-6 Yao.
“I think I’m going to do a good job,” Gooden said. “I haven’t had any time to practice with the team, everything I’ve been doing has been with the coaches. Other than that I feel like it’s just a game of basketball and anybody in this league can do that and I think I’m one of them.”
Notes
Spurs:
Notes In Thursday's loss, the Spurs shot 65 percent (11-of-17) from 3-point range, including G-F Michael Finley's 5-of-6 showing. ... Finley's 25 points were a season high. ... With the loss, the Spurs slip to two games ahead of Houston (42-24) and 2 1/2 over Utah (41-24) and New Orleans (40-23) for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Rockets:
With the win, the Rockets retained their hold on the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and pulled to within 1 1/2 games of second-place San Antonio (43-21). ... G Aaron Brooks was just 2-of-12 from the field and finished with 10 points.
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Tony Parker SA 21.1
Yao Ming Hou 19.7
Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 10.7
Yao Ming Hou 9.6
Assists
Tony Parker SA 6.7
Tracy McGrady Hou 5.0
Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
San Antonio 43-21 1st Southwest / 2nd West 97.5 93.5 Road 20-12 Lost 1 6-4
Houston 43-24 2nd Southwest / 3rd West 98.7 94.9 Home 27-7 Won 1 7-3
and who will be there right behind the rockets bench
me!
Nice. Have a great time. Take some pics if you can.
Gonna be a fun game.
DD
ha yah me and my friend will have our thundersticks
we will be shouting mvp when duncan is at the free throw line
priceless
sweeeeeettttt
ha yah me and my friend will have our thundersticks
we will be shouting mvp when duncan is at the free throw line
I'll be in section 111 with that sign, I'm wishing in one way shape or form I can get an autograph, but I doubt it'll happen.
im in section 115 but we always manage to sneak down courtside
You never know. Going without expecting anything is good, that way you're not disappointed. But you never know what can happen. Good luck.
Rockets win, but will they learn?
There have been times when Rick Adelman has been patient, understanding even as the Rockets went through the rocky times of revolving lineups and incredible inconsistency.
There have been stretches that he maintained perspective, knowing that the Rockets were winning, keeping themselves in the thick of the tight Western Conference playoff race.
Then Friday, they beat the Bobcats, which is not an automatic 'W' these days. Ron Artest hit a big jumper and blocked the Bobcats' final shot. Yao Ming nailed a key 3-pointer.
The Rockets had won three of the first four games in their five-game week, winning twice on the road. They have won 12 of 15 games since their rock-bottom loss in Milwaukee, ending Tracy McGrady's season.
Adelman, however, had issues that he did not leave the postgame locker room without addressing.
Before a question was asked, in his nightly opening statement, Adelman skipped past the late blocked shots or long jumpers and went right to what was wrong.
"We were just very fortunate to get that win," Adelman said. "We had it in control and we made three straight mistakes. They had a chance to win it. Fortunately, we were able to pull it out."
The playoffs are a little more than a month away. Close games decide playoff series. Give one away, as the Rockets nearly did again on Friday, and another season ends before the second round.
The Rockets head into Saturday's game against the Spurs trailing San Antonio by a game-and-a-half for the division lead and the second seed. There is still a long way to go to determine the playoff order, but the eight Western Conference teams seem certain. Ninth-place Phoenix trails Dallas by six games.
As much as the remaining 15 games will be about playoff positioning and the pursuit of home-court advantage, for the Rockets they are about honing the way they do things, especially at the end of games.
They are about Aaron Brooks running the offense, about Ron Artest getting under control and about Yao Ming getting the ball closer than 25 feet from the basket.
"It's still our goal, to learn how to finish games," Brooks said. "It sounds like a broken record, but yeah, that's it."
With the playoffs looming, Adelman did not let them leave the locker room without hearing it.
"I told the team, if you're going to get to the playoffs and have any chance to succeed, we can't continue to make these mistakes," Adelman said. "We've been making them. You can call it youth, but youth's over with. We have 15 games left; we can't continue to do that."
Off subject, but I feel like seeing them play the Blazers in the 1st round might be one of the better series in the playoffs if it were to happen. Would be even better if Oden and Yao could go at it. Other than that:
Brooks vs. Blake
Artest vs Roy
And all the rest.
Rockets 108
Spurms 67
Go Spurs! The Rockets have been a silently good team, especially factoring in how McGrady has been absent. Hill will probably get quite a bit of minutes guarding Brooks. And there's always the being bummed out when seeing Scola play. Hopefully we'll see more of Gooden! Should be an interesting game!This message is hidden because Spork KIller is on your ignore list.
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Who is Hill?Go Spurs! The Rockets have been a silently good team, especially factoring in how McGrady has been absent. Hill will probably get quite a bit of minutes guarding Brooks. And there's always the being bummed out when seeing Scola play. Hopefully we'll see more of Gooden! Should be an interesting game!
The one that guarded Kobe in crunch time?
Poor bas
Yeah, the same Hill that held Kobe at bay at the 3-point line toward the game's end....the legend begins.
the same three-pointer that kill their ing hopes at winning the game when they were down only by 2 points?
Pathetic...
Your coach sucks ass!
just MOVE THE BALL around and you'll win
THIS IS A MUST WIN FOR THE DIVISION.
GOOD LUCK SPURS!!!!
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Last edited by milkyway21; 03-14-2009 at 05:46 AM.
goodluck spurs! use gooden.
I'm looking forward to this game if only to see if Timmy has improved or continues to struggle. I want to see if Michael Finley can continue his hot shooting. If Tony can get it started in the 1st quarter. If the Big Drizzle can rain on Houston's parade. If Bonner gets his focus and shooting eye back.. Actually, I'd settle for just having Duncan back healthy and mobile.
haha. i bet u would want Hill over that sucker Goran Tragic.Who is Hill?
The one that guarded Kobe in crunch time?
Poor bas
AccuScore Winning Percentage (Based on over 10,000 simulations)
35.6%
64.3%
Spurss is going to win big time. I hope tony has his day and plays like he did at last games second half. Gooden to show its qualities and for tim, i dont know, he wasnt himself last time, i hope hes doing better this time.
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ar..._day_contract/
Rockets Sign White To Second 10-day Contract
The Houston Rockets have signed high flyer James White to a second 10 day contract, the Associated Press is reporting.
White, who averaged almost 26 points a game for the Anaheim Arsenal of the D-League, has remained in active for the Rockets so far.
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