Yao leads Rockets past Suns 100-94
(Photo: Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images) Yao Ming scored 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting to lead the Rockets past the Suns 100-94.
McGrady added 18 as Houston was clearly the best team on the night as the Suns tried to come back on a couple of occasions, late in the second and early in the third quarter, actually even taking the lead 64-63 in the 3rd but the Rockets responded immediately.
For the Suns, Nash had 29 points (11-20 from the field and still perfect on free throws 4-4, that’s 44 in a row if you’re keeping score at home) and 6 assists, Stoudemire scored 25 with 9 boards and Marion added 18. A quiet night for Grant Hill with just 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting with zero fouls on the game. I don’t like when a player goes 29 minutes without making a foul in a losing effort.
Speaking of bad games, Barbosa scored just 4 points on 2-for-11 shooting. It was just not Leandro’s night, it could happen as he’s having a great year so far averaging over 18 points a game.
The Rockets dominated the game: Shooting percentage: HOU 51.9% - PHX 41.5%, 3-point shooting: HOU 50% - PHX 41,2%, rebounds: HOU 47 - PHX 34, Assists HOU 23 - PHX 18. I think for once, stats clearly show why the Rockets won even if the game remained closed until the closing seconds.
A losing streak? We must admit we’re not really used to it, at least this season. The streak might actually become a 3-game thing as the Magic, with an NBA best 14 wins come to town on Friday (7 PM).
Last season the Suns had a 4-game losing streak early in November then didn’t lose two in a row until February. Hopefully it’ll be the case again this year as the Suns are sitting on a comfortable 11-4 record on top of the Division.
One final note, before the game, the Suns assigned rookie forward Alando Tucker to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League. Coach D’Antoni couldn’t find enough (any…one could say) minutes for Doe and he was not going to get any better just by watching. If you know you’re not gonna play the rookies, why even draft them…just trade the picks, get something in return at least.
Yours truly, Steve Fan
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Posted by Steve Fan
Blogger and Steve Nash enthusiast. Don't get in his way, he'll MVP your ass.
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[…] Ming had 31 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Houston Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns 100-94 Wednesday night for their third straight […]