Johnny Ludden : Rockets brush off futility against Spurs

[Bruno]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...r.2e9605a.html


Web Posted: 12/23/2006 12:24 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News


The chant started in Section 219, near the rafters, and drifted down to the court.

M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!

The Spurs heard the refrain countless times at the AT&T Center. Just never for an opposing player.

After finding San Antonio to be slightly less than hospitable for much of the past decade, the Houston Rockets felt right at home Friday. They brought their own fans, turned Yao Ming and Bonzi Wells loose and hammered the Spurs 97-78.

In addition to handing the Spurs their worst loss of the season, Houston ended its 17-game losing streak in San Antonio. The Rockets' last victory here came on April 20, 1997, which, not so coincidentally, was the last loss the Spurs suffered to Houston before drafting Tim Duncan.

Duncan wasn't much help Friday, missing 9 of 13 shots, 5 of 11 free throws and scoring a modest 14 points. But neither were most of his teammates. The Spurs shot 40.3 percent, gave up 22 points off 17 turnovers and were bullied for much of the first half by Yao and Wells.

"It was a frustrating night," said Manu Ginobili, who led the Spurs with 23 points. "Offensively, we couldn't get anything done and defensively it was basically the same."

The Spurs didn't have to contend with Tracy McGrady, who spent the day in Waco visiting a back specialist. But it didn't matter. Not with Yao dominating inside.

While Houston had lost four of its first five games without McGrady, Yao used the time to further establish himself as the league's most dominating center. He entered Friday having scored at least 30 points in all but one of the last six games.

Judging from his first few minutes against the Spurs, Yao looked determined to eclipse that total in the first half. He scored 10 of the Rockets' first 12 points and totaled 14 in the opening quarter, 20 in the half.

"He's getting a lot more aggressive," Robert Horry said. "What helped him most was McGrady being injured.

"Most of those guys are going to defer to (McGrady), so (Yao) started to be more aggressive. That was probably the best thing for him, to help his maturity, his game. He's just a totally different player."

The Spurs tried fronting Yao, playing behind him, double-teaming him, but didn't have much success. Francisco Elson received the initial assignment to guard Yao, but he didn't last long. Neither did Fabricio Oberto, who picked up three fouls in two minutes.

Yao finished with 22 points and seven rebounds after the Spurs finally slowed him in the second half by getting him in foul trouble.

Houston took a 17-point halftime lead and the Spurs never got closer than 12.

"We were definitely flat, no energy," Tony Parker said. "They just came out very strong and were more physical. We had a hard time with Yao Ming.

"He basically hurt us in the first quarter and after that we never came back."

Wells, meanwhile, nearly tormented the Spurs as much as Yao, which shouldn't have come as a surprise considering he did the same thing in last season's first-round playoff series with Sacramento. The Spurs frequently had to double-team Wells (15 points, seven rebounds) because he was too strong for any one of their perimeter defenders to guard: Bruce Bowen played just six minutes in the second half.

"He causes so many different problems," Horry said. "He can play outside, he go on the block and do that post-up thing. It causes us to change our defense from our normal routine."

The Spurs rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second half to win in Houston on Nov. 14, but the Rockets made sure there wouldn't be another impressive comeback. Even when Yao went to the bench midway through the third quarter with his fourth foul, Houston outscored the Spurs 10-9.

The Rockets shot 51.4 percent for the game and their defense also flustered the Spurs, who committed nine turnovers and matched their fewest points in any half this season with 36.

"They played and executed for the entire 48 minutes," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We competed for 24 minutes. It's tough to win if you play half the time."

A vocal contingent of Houston supporters filled most of one upper-deck section and serenaded Yao whenever he went to the foul line.

M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!

"If you don't count preseason games, that's the first time I've won here," Yao said. "That's a big night for me."

[SenorSpur]

It's terribly frustrating to see the Spurs come out and "lay an egg" of a performance against supposedly "inferior" compe ion. It's one thing if the Spurs had played well and the Rockets still won. It's quite another for them to come out flat and act as though they were simply not interested in competing.

It's nights like this that the Spurs look like an old team that doesn't have a spark.