The AP reports: J.R. Smith’s 23-point performance sparked Denver to a 111-94 rout of the Houston Rockets on Sunday night that both clarified and cluttered the wild Western Conference playoff race. “That’s all he’s got to do is come into the game and the energy is there,” said Allen Iverson, who scored 33 points… This was a surprisingly easy win for the Nuggets, who raced to 43 fastbreak points as the Rockets shot 34 percent. Denver pulled away with a 10-0 first-half run sparked by consecutive 3-pointers from Smith. Luther Head lead Houston with 19 points and McGrady scored 16. Marcus Camby grabbed 14 rebounds, all but one of them off the defensive glass, and blocked seven shots for Denver, which led 61-44 at halftime and never looked back.
Category: Houston Rockets Blog
Rockets blog – Houston Rockets blog
Apr. 11: Rockets 101, Suns 90
The AP reports: Tracy McGrady had 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Luis Scola added 19 points as the Rockets cruised to a 101-90 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night… Rookie Carl Landry added 14 points and seven rebounds, and reserve guard Bobby Jackson had 13 points as the Rockets stayed in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Suns in the standings… Amare Stoudemire scored 37 points and Shaquille O’Neal added 16 points for the Suns, who mustered their lowest point total since a 116-86 loss to Detroit on Feb. 24.
Apr. 9: Rockets 103, Sonics 80
The AP reports: Rafer Alston scored 18 points as the Rockets, playing without Tracy McGrady, got 48 points from their reserves to easily beat the Sonics 103-80. McGrady sat out with a sore left shoulder that’s bothered him for more than a week, but the Rockets didn’t miss him, handing Seattle its 11th staright road loss. Rookie Luis Scola had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Luther Head started for McGrady and scored 16 and sharp-shooting reserve Steve Novak added a career-high 17 points as Houston kept pace with first-place New Orleans in the tightly packed Western Conference playoff race… Former Texas star Kevin Durant scored 26, Nick Collison grabbed 15 rebounds and Earl Watson added 16 points and eight assists for the Sonics, who’ve lost seven straight meetings with Houston and 18 of their last 20 games overall.
Apr. 6: Rockets 105, Clippers 79
The AP reports: Rookie Aaron Brooks came off the bench to score 18 points, and five teammates reached double figures in Houston’s lopsided victory over the short-handed Clippers… Rookie Luis Scola scored 16 points, Luther Head added 15, McGrady had 13 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, Bobby Jackson had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Battier scored 11 for the Rockets, who shot 48.1 percent and outrebounded the Clippers 51-33… Houston’s Rafer Alston, averaging 13.2 points and 5.4 assists, missed his third game due to a sore left hamstring… Josh Powell had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers (23-54), who have lost 21 of their last 25 games. Elton Brand, playing just his third game of the season, had 19 points and eight rebounds in 36 minutes, and Cuttino Mobley added 11 points for Los Angeles.
Yao Ming visiting China this week
The Houston Chronicle (Jonathan Feigen) reports: Seeking a break in his rehabilitation routine, Rockets center Yao Ming is visiting China this week with plans to return to Houston in time for the playoffs. “He’s done a stretch of his rehab,” John Huizinga, Yao’s NBA agent, said. “He has a long stretch of rehab coming up. This is a window of time. It’s an opportunity to take a break and get a change of scenery. He wants to be back to be with his Rockets teammates once he is off his crutches for the playoffs, and when that happens he will step up treatment too.”
Apr. 4: Rockets 79, Sonics 66
The AP reports: After a relatively mortal first half, Tracy McGrady ignored the pain in his injured left shoulder to score 18 of his 25 points in the third quarter, and the Houston Rockets kept pace in the wild Western Conference playoff race with a 79-66 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Friday night… Bobby Jackson added 13 points, playing well in place of injured starter Rafer Alston, who missed his second straight game with a sore hamstring… Nick Collison had 15 points and 11 rebounds, but the Sonics lost for the 20th time in 22 games and assured themselves of at least matching the worst record in franchise history… Kevin Durant missed his first eight attempts, and finished 2-of-17 with a season-low four points.
Apr. 3: Rockets 95, Blazers 86
The Rockets opened up a lead in the second quarter and held on for the win. For Houston, Tracy McGrady (14-of-29) had 35 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Aaron Brooks, Luther Head, Bobby Jackson and Dikembe Mutombo all scored in the low double-digits, and rebounding was spread across the board. It was a true team effort outside of T-Mac’s big point total. Houston was red-hot from outside, nailing 11-of-22 three-pointers. For the Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge (10-of-20) had 23 points but just 4 rebounds. Jarrett Jack (8-of-15) had 19. Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw (just 5-of-18) and Channing Frye also reached double-digit points. Brandon Roy remains out of action.
Apr. 1: Kings 99, Rockets 98
The AP reports: Ron Artest scored 30 points, Kevin Martin added 27 and the Sacramento Kings dealt a blow to Houston’s chances of winning the Southwest Division with a 99-98 victory over the Rockets on Tuesday night. The Rockets (49-25) fell 2 1/2 games behind New Orleans and San Antonio in the division race with only eight games remaining, hurting their chances of hosting a first-round playoff series. Tracy McGrady scored 32 to lead Houston, but missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have won it. The Rockets have lost five of eight since a franchise-record, 22-game winning streak… Luis Scola finished with 20 points and Rafer Alston had 18 for Houston.
Rockets sign Loren Woods to second 10-day contract
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed center Loren Woods to a second 10-day contract. Woods has averaged 3.0 points in two games with the Rockets this season.
Woods (7-2, 260, Arizona) averaged 2.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 208 prior NBA games (47 starts) with Minnesota, Miami and Toronto. Internationally, Woods won the 2006-07 Lithuanian National Championship with BC Zalgiris Kaunas and had been playing this season with Efes Pilsen Istanbul in Euroleague. Woods was named the 2007-08 Euroleague Week 11 MVP, pacing Efes Pilsen with 16 points and 18 rebounds in a 91-84 overtime win against Le Mans. His 18 boards (10 offensive) stood as the second highest total in Euroleague history.
Selected by the Timberwolves in the second round (46th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft, Woods spent two seasons with Minnesota before signing as a free agent with the Heat in 2003-04. He was chosen by the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA Expansion Draft on June 22, 2004, and later signed with the Raptors on Aug. 18, 2004. With Toronto in 2004-05, Woods averaged career bests of 3.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.87 blocks in 45 games. Woods also averaged 4.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 30 games as a starter that season with the Raptors. In 2005-06, the former standout at Arizona ranked ninth in the NBA in rebounds per 48 minutes (16.3 rpg) and 16th in blocks per 48 minutes (3.41 bpg) with Toronto.
Woods signed on with the Sacramento Kings on Aug.15, 2006, but was waived prior to the regular season. He later joined the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League in 2006-07, averaging 11.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.00 blocks in 15 games with the Toros. He also participated in the 2007 Gillette D-League All-Star Game.
Mar. 30: Spurs 109, Rockets 88
The AP reports: Michael Finley scored 22 points on Sunday and the Spurs picked up their seventh straight win with an easy 109-88 victory over the Houston Rockets… Tony Parker added another 22 points and Tim Duncan had 13 for the Spurs, who have 51 wins—the most in the tightly packed Western Conference. The Rockets aren’t far behind… Luis Scola scored a season-high 24 points for the Rockets. Tracy McGrady— most often matched up against Spurs top defender Bruce Bowen—and Rafer Alston each had 13 points after shooting a combined 9-for-38… Luther Head scored 10 points for the Rockets. Manu Ginobili scored 14 for the Spurs and Kurt Thomas added 10.