Rockets Rise Up, Knock Off Spurs

Brooks-Lowry combo sparks Houston to 116-109 victory

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - Sometimes it really is just that simple.

Take a few days off. Refocus. Recharge the batteries. Get a couple solid practices in.

Then go back to work and take care of the business.

That formula certainly worked wonders for the Rockets Friday night, as the team took full advantage of a week primarily spent resting up and getting back to basics. The end result: A thrilling 116-109 road win over the San Antonio Spurs in a game which saw the Rockets return to the style which had made them such a joy to watch during the first two months of the regular season.

“The last couple days of practice we really got back to being ourselves, getting back to helping each other and playing together,” said Kyle Lowry, who was the catalyst seemingly sparking every Rockets run on his way to stuffing the stat sheet with 22 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

“Tonight was a great team victory. We helped each other and everybody contributed. It was just a great win for us.”

Indeed, there’s no denying the impact this victory holds for Houston. Not only does it stand as yet another signature win on the Rockets’ mantle, it also snapped the team’s 5-game road losing streak and kept the Rockets right in the thick of the Western Conference picture, one which gets seemingly more muddled and tightly-packed by the hour.

Yet just as notable as the win itself was the way Houston played in claiming this much-needed victory. The team looked fresh, pushing the pace and running the floor on its way to posting 27 fast break points. The offensive execution was crisp, as players consistently made hard cuts and sharp passes. And perhaps most importantly, the Rockets relentlessly attacked the rim, outscoring San Antonio 52-36 in the paint, where Houston hit an astounding 21 of its 27 shots.

Keying the club’s effort in that area were Lowry and Aaron Brooks, a dynamic backcourt duo for which San Antonio simply had no answer. They may not have played flawlessly but it’s hard to imagine them playing much better than they did Friday night. Both players got to their spots at will, repeatedly beating their men off the dribble to create for both themselves and their teammates. Combined, the pair racked up 46 points on 16-of-29 shooting (including 4-of-7 from three), while dishing 16 helpers.

“We just go out there and push the tempo,” said Lowry. “San Antonio doesn’t want to play uptempo and coach wanted me in there to push the pace and tonight we pushed the ball, got open shots and we made them.

“Me and Aaron, we’re both fast and our bigs set great screens for us and we make plays when we get in the paint.”

Keep in mind, this offensive explosion came against the perpetually stingy, defense-first Spurs. And though this isn’t San Antonio’s finest defensive squad of recent vintage, the Tim Duncan-led crew still came into Friday night’s game ranked 7th overall in terms of defensive efficiency. No matter. The Rockets still ran through them with a shocking amount of ease.

Speaking of defense, Houston showed signs of improvement on that end as well – at least once the first quarter was finished, anyway. After getting torched for 31 points in the opening frame, the Rockets tightened up and surrendered just 46 points in the middle two quarters, turning especially stingy while rattling off 14 straight points during the decisive run which stretched from the end of the third period into the opening few minutes of the fourth.

As they typically do, the Spurs still made a game of it, rediscovering their rhythm in time to score 32 points in the final frame while creating plenty of tense moments down the stretch. But much of San Antonio’s damage was done at the free throw line; the Spurs shot just 41.8 percent from the field for the game but stayed alive in large part thanks to Duncan’s parade to the charity stripe, where he went 15-of-21 on his way to scoring a game-high 25 points.

Yes, it’s just one win. And, yes, it will mean little if the Rockets don’t follow it up by coming home and taking care of business against the Chicago Bulls Saturday night (by the way, Houston has lost only one time all year to a team below .500; Chicago’s record: 18-22). But any victory in San Antonio is special and one to be savored; especially when it arrives on the heels of Houston’s first true slump of the season and at the beginning of an exceedingly challenging 10-day stretch featuring 6 games; all of which include teams that would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today.

“Just when you think our team is headed into the lions’ den we have a great performance like we did tonight,” said Shane Battier, no slouch himself Friday night with 14 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting. “With our recent play most people thought this would be an easy victory for the Spurs and it really seemed that way in the first quarter. I have to credit our bench and the play of Kyle Lowry for turning the tide of the game. We really fought hard and played aggressively in the second half for the fist time in awhile.

“To beat them, especially here, you have to play well. You can’t bring your ‘B’ game and beat these guys here, so that’s why this win is especially nice for us.”

QUOTES

RICK ADELMAN

“Great game, they put up a fight as it was just a real solid win.”
(on having a defensive hold on the Spurs in the second half)

“They‘re a real handful as they‘ve been together for so long. They spot up their shooters very well and they hurt us in the fourth quarter with Duncan and Parker, but that’s happened before to other teams, too. The big thing was we kept scoring at the other end and kept the distance from them as I think our team collectively came out and wanted to play a solid game. We haven’t had a big road win in a while so this is a good place to get one. ”

(on the athleticism of Houston‘s point guards)
“Our two little point guards are really tough. We play them together as they‘re hard to guard as both can penetrate and both can get to the basket. Kyle shot the ball well tonight as Aaron was terrific down the stretch.”

(on Tim Duncan‘s 20,000-point milestone tonight)
“He‘s a great player as I‘ve watched him enough and played against him enough to know that he‘s a terrific player. He has 20,000 points and really doesn‘t even work at it.”

(on if things would have been different if Chuck Hayes would have stayed in the game)
“I was just going to stick to whatever was happening. We got down as it was a matter of back and forth as I liked Carl out there. Carl made some big plays and got down towards the basket as I thought he was doing a decent job. Like I said before, those two guys are tough in the pick-and-roll.”

KYLE LOWRY

The last couple days of practice we really got back to being ourselves, getting back to helping each other and playing together. Tonight was a great team victory. We helped each other and everybody contributed. It was just a great win for us.

We just go out there and push the tempo. San Antonio doesn’t want to play uptempo and coach wanted me in there to push the pace and tonight we pushed the ball, got open shots and we made them.

Me and Aaron really pushed the tempo and we got a lot of good things done out of it. Me and Aaron, we’re both fast and our bigs set great screens for us to get into the paint and me we make plays when we get in the paint.

SHANE BATTIER

“Just when you think our team is headed into the lions den we have a great performance like we did tonight.  With our recent play most people thought this would be an easy victory for the Spurs and it really seemed that way in the first quarter. I have to credit our bench and the play of Kyle Lowry for turning the tide of the game. We really fought hard and played aggressively in the second half for the fist time in awhile.

I think we just pushed the ball more. We’re at our best when we attack the defense early in the shot clock and when we’re taking loose threes instead of contested threes. We just really told each other to keep pushing it and get early shots.

To beat them, especially here, you have to play well. You can’t bring your ‘B’ game and beat these guys here, so that’s why this win is especially nice for us.

(Scoring so many points in the paint): You don’t see that too often. Their defense is still unbelievable, especially with Duncan in the middle, but Brooks did a great job attacking the paint, especially late in the game. I don’t know how he made some of those layups but they were very impressive.

(Going perfect from the field): Every now and then you have a night like that so I don’t want to think about it, I’ll just take it (laughs).

Gregg Popovich

(On their defense tonight)
“You got to play a lick of defense if you want to win in this league. Our defense against Utah and against Houston was very poor. 60 points in the second half against Utah and 61 in the second half tonight. That’s not going to win basketball games. It looks like the effort and all that sort of thing is great, but way too many mistakes…not enough focus…not enough execution. We’re scoring enough points to win games. We’re scoring more points than we’ve ever scored in our lives, but our defense is really sub-par and it’s killing us.”

George Hill

(On their second-half defensive struggles the last two games)
“I can’t my finger on it but we’re trying. You can’t always stop someone but you can make it difficult and we’re just in that phase where things aren’t going our way right now. We’re going to keep pounding at it and hopefully the tides turn.”

(On their lack of focus on defense right now)
“We’re going to come out and keep trying to get better and keep improving. It’s just not one person. I think it’s all of us. That’s where it starts; to hold each other accountable and get better every day.”

(On not getting the win when Tim gets his 20,000th point))
“[It’s disappointing]. He deserves it. He’s been through a lot and he deserves the best and we’re trying to give it to him. Things didn’t come out our way. He understands that’s basketball and you’re going to have your ups and downs. We’re just having a down right now. We’re going to pick it up and hopefully get back on track.”

Richard Jefferson

(On his runner in the lane compared to the one against OKC)
“That one was to put us up by one. This one tonight was to keep giving us a chance. I don’t how many games this is in a row where we’ve had double-digit leads and haven’t been able to come out with a victory, but we’re just not sustaining it for 48 minutes. That’s what Popovich is so [upset] about. That’s what Pop has been preaching. I particularly haven’t been playing as well as I would like. Everyone kind of has to look in the mirror and try and step it up.”

(On if the team is struggling to just come together)
“A little bit, yes and no. We all know at this point in time, being professionals, what’s expected of us…where we need to be…the things that coach expects from us. We know the things that it’s going to take for us to be successful as a team. There’s no excuses. There’s no, ‘we’re still trying to learn each other’ or any of that. You’re dealing with that in the first 25-30 games of the season, but at this point in time we know what it takes to be successful.”

(On their second-half defensive problems lately)
“We gotta play better. There’s no foul trouble. There’s no injuries. We’re healthy. Pop does a good job of keep us rested. There’s not a fatigue factor. We just have to play better and when I say that I’m starting with myself.”

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