PrintRockets Pitch Perfect Against Jazz
Houston takes charge early, cruises to dominating 113-96 victory
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com
Houston - You watch games like this and the possibilities hovering on the horizon seem limitless.
Aaron Brooks wreaking havoc with his pick-your-poison skillset of speed and unlimited range.
Kevin Martin starring as the silent assassin.
Luis Scola confounding defenders with a smorgasbord of scoops and a bevy of boards.
Trevor Ariza shooting the gaps and slashing through the lane.
A cast of versatile and oftentimes electric playmakers off the bench.
And, of course, the singular presence of Yao Ming.
Yes, we won’t be treated to the Rockets’ full cast of characters until October, leaving us to simply subsist on the imagery of our imaginations for now. But watching the way Houston absolutely eviscerated a first class Utah team 113-96 Wednesday night certainly makes those images suddenly seem so much more vivid and profound.
Indeed, bearing witness to the Rockets’ romp was at times akin to getting a glimpse into the mind of Morey; a sneak peak into the way Houston’s GM has begun to arrange the instruments at his disposal in order to return the Rockets to the ranks of the Western Conference elite.
There was Aaron Brooks on lead guitar, smashing the Rockets’ franchise record for made 3-pointers in a season in style, draining 5-of-8 from beyond the arc as part of a virtuoso performance which saw him outscore Utah’s Deron Williams 28 to 12 – an outcome few would have found believable when the two first went toe-to-toe in 2007.
There was Luis Scola, moving with a rhythm all his own; so slippery in the low-post and simply oozing heart and soul, coaxing and cajoling the ball into the hoop to the tune of 24 points.
There was Kevin Martin, laying down a groove so subtle and sublime you barely even notice it at first until, next thing you know, you find yourself humming right along while he drops an easy 28.
There was Chuck Hayes on drums, setting the tone for the entire band by doing all the dirty work; pounding and pounding and pounding away until he’d collected a career-high 18 rebounds and left a slew of opponents in his cacophonous wake.
There was Chase Budinger, “Smooth Jazz” himself, soaring through the air like the perfect note plucked at the perfect time, bringing down the hammer on another alley-oop dish delivered from the instant tempo-changer, Kyle Lowry.
And then there was the maestro of it all, Rick Adelman, standing on the sidelines taking in this young ensemble, only stepping in when necessary, years of experience teaching him to stay in the moment and never get too high or too low. But hopefully, too, there was something special in this win – it was, after all, the 900th of his incredible coaching career – and surely even he must occasionally allow himself the indulgence of contemplating the magical sort of music just waiting to be made when Yao returns.
But, yes, yes – there’s no need to get ahead of ourselves. That sort of thinking is for summertime. For now, four games remain; four more opportunities to watch this group grow and evolve, if ever so subtlety. Nights like this remind us of the value of sticking around until the song is complete and the last note has been played. Because it's nights like this that remind us of the beauty to be found while basking in the melody of the present – and the greatness to be discovered in the whispers of what’s to come.
QUOTES
RICK ADELMAN
Very solid win for us all the way through. We came out at the start of the game and carried in on through the whole way. I’m just really pleased after the win last night, coming back tonight. I’m sure they were a little tired after the game they had, they had a long flight, but we got after them and controlled the game. I’m just very happy. We’ve got two in a row here and let’s see if we can’t keep it going.
We got our hands on a lot of balls tonight. We had a lot of deflections. We were very active getting in the passing lanes and I think a lot of ( Utah’s turnovers) were due to our activity.
Offensively we were very good, too. Williams hurts us because he’s so strong and good at pushing the ball and he can attack. Other than that, I thought we did a good job. We kept coming at them, too.
Chuck was incredible. I thought he really set the tone right from the start of the game.
(on win No. 900): I’ve said it before: I’ve been fortunate to be in four situations and three of them have been great with very good players. Sometimes you get fortunate in that way. It’s either that or you get very old and you’ve been coaching a long time. I’m probably both (laughs).
I was glad to see it with our guys this year because we’ve been struggling so much and to get to 40 wins… now we want to see if we can get a few more.
KEVIN MARTIN
You know they’re playing for something at this time of year and I think this shows the character of this team. We’re out of the playoffs and we came out here and scrapped. That’s a real positive thing for us.
You never want it to be over but we have something to build on for the future and we all know that around here.
Next year, everything looks good down on paper but it’s about determination on both ends of the court. Just as I work hard during our four months off on scoring because I know how other teams play me, I’ve got to take that down on the other end and make myself just as tough (defensively). That’s what we’ve been trying to do lately. Hopefully it starts with me and Aaron in the backcourt and then it carries over.
For us, it’s just about staying healthy. We’re going to put enough pressure on people all over the court. We know what we need to do. Now we just need to go out there and do it.
AARON BROOKS
(playing on national TV): I think it just makes you more aware. We played our role well and we played with energy. I don’t know if national TV had anything to do with that or it was just the Jazz. We just want to finish strong and this was one game where I would say everybody played their role.
I like the team we have. I think we can grow together, that’s just going to take games and you can see, especially if we get everybody healthy, we can be pretty dangerous. It’s unfortunate that Shane’s out right now but you can see all the pieces coming together.
(On the importance of the win) “We are setting ourself up for next year and guys are getting valuable minutes and hopefully when we add Yao (Ming) it’s just going to make us a stronger team. I think the good thing is Jordan Hill is playing good. Chase (Budinger) is playing good. We got a chance to see what Jared (Jeffries) can do. We’ve got a lot of pieces and right now we’re playing pretty good basketball and we are going to try to keep it up.”
(On Rick Adelman’s 900th win) “For a guy to win 900 games, I don’t even think I’ve played 900 basketball games period. He has been around for awhile. His system is proven. It works. We’ve had so many injuries but we keep plugging people into a position and we find a way to win. That is just a testimony to his coaching ability. He gave me a chance to come here and play when a lot of people didn’t think I could and I thank him for that. His coaching staff is great.”
CHUCK HAYES
(On the Rockets defense) “We defended them well. They have one of the best passing teams in the league and we really preached on just getting deflections because their interior passing is so good, that’s how they get so many points in the paint. If you get a deflection it leads to a turnover and it can lead to a break.”
(On the Jazz) “They play us tough. They’ve played us tough the last couple of years. We’ve had some great match ups. Both teams were coming in from back to backs and for us to win the way we did feels good.”
LUIS SCOLA
(On the win) “It feels great. I think we had a great game overall. They were coming from a back to back but we were coming from a back to back too. So now, we have two wins in a row and we’ve got to go for a third one. It’s just four games left and we are really closing this year with a winning season and I think that’s a great goal.”
(On the key to rebounding) “We were really focused in the game. We were touching a lot of balls, deflecting a lot of passes and forcing a lot of turnovers. I think we pretty much controlled the game.”
UTAH COACH JERRY SLOAN
(On the game) “They just man-handled us. We couldn't stay with them from the beginning. All we could do well is turn the ball over. It was a long night and hopefully we will forget about it. We didn't have the ability to guard them and we didn't do the job. Houston just out-played us.”
(On Aaron Brooks) “He was sensational! He had a great night. He pushes the ball so well and has great heart. He just keeps getting better.”
(On Utah's play) “I expect a lot from our guys every game. If the energy is not there, it just isn't there. That's basketball and there is nothing you can do. I'd rather give Houston credit because they played very well.”
CARLOS BOOZER
(On the game) “We just didn't get stops and Houston played better and took it to us all game. We didn't have any energy. Houston made big plays and hit big shots all game. They took it to us early.”
(On the playoffs) “It's going to be a good finish and I am looking forward to it.”
DERON WILLIAMS
(On the key to the game) “They just had more energy than we did. The Houston guards can score and Kevin Martin is so good with the offense they run. It was a tough loss and we can't hang our heads.”
(On Aaron Brooks' play) “I've known Aaron and watched him play for awhile. He is developing into a great point guard in this league. He runs their offense to perfection and he is “lights out” from the three.”
NOTES
The Rockets recorded a 113-96 victory over the Jazz tonight, which came one night after a 113-103 win at Memphis (4/6/10). It marked Houston’s third sweep of back-to-back games this season.
Houston was 10-of-19 (.526) from beyond the arc tonight. The Rockets have now made 10 or more 3-pointers in seven of the last nine meetings with the Jazz (10-26 3FG on 4/14/08, 12-28 3FG on 12/27/08, 11-24 3FG on 1/21/09, 10-26 3FG on 3/24/09, 10-19 3FG on 11/2/09, 11-26 3FG on 2/16/10 and 10-19 3FG tonight).
The Rockets forced 26 turnovers by the Jazz tonight, matching Houston’s opponent season high of 26 turnovers by the Trail Blazers at Portland (10/27/09). The Jazz also had 21 turnovers in the previous game at Houston (2/16/10).
With a 113-96 victory tonight, Rick Adelman became just the 11th head coach in NBA annals to notch 900 career victories.
A leading candidate for NBA’s Most Improved Player, Aaron Brooks finished with 28 points (11-22 FG, 5-8 3FG) and five assists tonight. Brooks tonight also set the franchise single-season record for 3-pointers made (197-503 3FG), surpassing the previous mark of 192 treys made (192-529 3FG) by Rafer Alston back in 2006-07.
Kevin Martin, who went 12-of-12 from the free throw line last night at Memphis (4/6/10), netted 28 points (9-20 FG) with a 9-of-9 performance from the line tonight. Martin also notched a team-high 32 points (9-13 FG, 12-13 FT) in the last meeting at Utah (2/27/10).
Luis Scola totaled 24 points (9-14 FG) and five rebounds tonight, as the trio of Aaron Brooks (28), Kevin Martin (28) and Scola (24) combined for 80 points. It marked the seventh time this season the Rockets have had three starters net 20-plus points in the same game.
Chuck Hayes posted six points (3-4 FG) and a career-high 18 rebounds tonight. Hayes now owns seven double-figure rebounding games this season, which includes his previous career best of 17 boards vs. Minnesota (1/13/10).
Carlos Boozer recorded 18 points (8-12 FG) and 11 rebounds tonight. Boozer has now posted a double-double in eight of his last 13 regular season outings against Houston. He also upped his active streak of double-doubles to eight games in a row (3/34/10-4/7/10).
Deron Williams had 12 points (3-9 FG, 6-7 FT) and seven assists tonight. Williams had 35 points (13-17 FG, 4-4 3FG) and 13 assists in the last meeting at Utah (2/27/10), including 20 points (8-9 FG, 2-2 3FG) in the first quarter alone. Overall, Williams owns 10 regular season double-digit assist performances against the Rockets dating back to 2006-07.
Paul Millsap added 13 points (6-11 FG), 11 rebounds, a season-best four steals and four blocked shots tonight. Millsap, who also had 20 points (8-11 FG) and 12 boards in the last game at Houston (2/16/10), marked his eighth double-double of the season.
Mehmet Okur left this game after suffering from left Achilles tendinitis and did not return.
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