PrintSuns Outlast Rockets In OT
Nash, Stoudemire team up to take down Houston 115-111
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Houston - The scene was so familiar.
Rockets-Suns, seconds slipping away, the ball in Aaron Brooks’ hands with the game hanging in the balance.
11 months ago, Houston’s point guard announced his arrival on the big stage by scorching Phoenix off a pick-and-roll with 7 seconds left to lift his team to victory. Sunday night, the stage was set for him to do so again. Overtime. Rockets down 1. Pick-and-roll. Brooks breaking free.
Only this time, the script veered agonizingly off track. There would be no déjà vu. Instead, Brooks’ running one-hander missed by mere inches, if not millimeters, allowing the Suns to escape with a 115-111 overtime win while the Rockets were left to wonder what might have been following a wild game of big shots, missed chances and heartbreaking calls.
“I just missed it,” lamented Brooks, who led Houston with 24 points on the evening. “Great play, I got to the rim and I make that shot 9 out of 10 times. Two inches to the right and little less power and we would’ve been up. But that’s how it goes.”
In many ways, Brooks’ miss encapsulated the rest of the Rockets evening. Time after time, Houston got the shots it wanted. Time after time, those shots refused to fall. The Rockets connected on just 37.7 percent of their field goal attempts Sunday night and only 69 percent of their free throws – typically numbers which spell certain doom against the high-scoring Suns. And to be sure, that errant shooting placed Houston in a huge early hole, as the Rockets fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first half; one which witnessed the club miss 14 straight shots at one point.
Yet despite all the accuracy issues, despite Amare Stoudemire’s monster game (36 points, 11 rebounds) and despite Steve Nash’s singular brilliance, Houston still found itself in prime position to snatch victory away from the Suns. By the three-minute mark of the third quarter, the Rockets had overcome their deficit and captured the lead. And though the Suns surged ahead once more, Houston kept clawing back, drawing even once again when Trevor Ariza’s stunning step-back corner trey fell through the net with 11.3 seconds remaining in regulation. One Nash airball at the buzzer later, the Rockets were happily heading to OT, feeling extremely positive about their chance to finally vanquish the Suns.
“We were confident in overtime,” said Shane Battier, who came through with his third double-double of the season, scoring 11 points to go with 11 rebounds. “We fought hard, we got back into the game after Trevor's shot and we thought it was our game to win, especially after Stoudemire fouled out. We just couldn't make the crucial stops that we needed to in the last two minutes of overtime.”
Yet even after Brooks’ missed runner, hope still remained for the Rockets. Houston quickly fouled Jared Dudley, who drained a pair of free throws to give Phoenix a 113-110 lead. The Suns then returned the favor, intentionally fouling Brooks to ensure that the Rockets could not unleash a three-point shot to tie. Houston’s point guard calmly sank the first free throw, then caught everyone off guard when he missed the second freebie on purpose, firing it off the rim with such precision that it caromed right back into his waiting hands. Yet the officials ruled that Brooks had crossed the line before the ball hit the rim; a lane violation which returned possession to Phoenix, ultimately extinguishing Houston’s hopes for victory.
“They said I stepped over the line,” said Brooks. “I know the rules. It’s been the same since I was in elementary school: you can’t step over the line until the ball hits the rim. But I didn’t move; the ball just came to me.
“I surprised myself, surprised the ref, surprised everybody. So maybe something had to be wrong. It’s a hard play – a hard call to (make). But that’s how it goes, I guess.”
QUOTES
RICK ADELMAN
The guys really played hard. We competed but we didn’t shoot it well all night long. We hung in there and had a chance to win the game. But we just have to keep competing like that. If we compete like that we’ll be ok.
I thought we had shots early at the start of the game but we just shot very poorly the whole game. Even at the end there, (Aaron) had that drive at the end, he had a good look at it and he missed it… He (usually) makes that shot. I thought it was a good look.
(Trevor): I thought he was very aggressive with the way he played and he made that big shot to put us in overtime. We have to have everybody. We had a tough night shooting the ball but you still give yourself a chance to win, so you’re doing some other things right.
It’s hard. The guys played their tails off. I thought in the first half we were a step behind. I thought they were quicker and did a lot of good things and that’s why we were down but the game changed in the third quarter. We’ve got to figure out a way to start the game and play 48 minutes through.
Phoenix is a tough team. They did a nice job in the first half. They didn’t shoot (many) threes and they usually kill you on threes. But in the first half they were getting it down the court, they were attacking us, getting to the basket and got us on our heels a little bit. But you know our guys are going to compete. Like I said, you give yourself a chance to win in a game like that when shooting 37 percent, you know you did some things right. We’re just going to try to dwell on those and get better on Tuesday.
We missed shots. I’m sorry, we missed shot after shot; inside, outside – it didn’t matter. We got good looks. The same shots that got us back in the game were the ones we were missing in the first quarter. It sounds simple but Aaron was 1-for-7 in the first half and then he makes three straight threes and suddenly we’re right back in the game. It’s the way the game flows.
AARON BROOKS
(on his missed shot late in OT): I just missed it. Great play, I got to the rim and I make that shot 9 out of 10 times. The ball kind of slips and that’s how it goes.
(think he was clear on the lane violation?): Definitely. I surprised myself, surprised the ref, surprised everybody. So maybe something had to be wrong. It’s a hard play – a hard call to (make). But that’s how it goes, I guess.
(did you make the decision to try it or did it come from the coaches?): It came from the bench. I’ve tried to do it in practice but I don’t think I’ve ever done it where it came right back to me, so it surprised me a little bit. I almost had it.
By the time I caught the ball, I thought I’d shoot a jump shot or a get a little bit closer. I was getting ready to move. I don’t think he blew the whistle right away. I think he kind of delayed a little bit. I was getting ready to dribble the ball but I don’t know. You make a call and you have to live with it. I’m not complaining about it.
They said I stepped over the line. I know the rules. It’s been the same since I was in elementary school: you can’t step over the line until the ball hits the rim. But I didn’t move, the ball just came to me.
It felt like this game should’ve been ours after Trevor hit that shot. We’ve had 2 or 3 overtime games and we’ve done pretty well in them, so we figured this was our game to win and we were feeling good. But that stuff happens. Two inches to the right and little less power and we would’ve been up. But that’s how it goes.
(On playing the Suns) “The style that they play, they allow you to get back in the game. We kept battling and we got some stops. We were able to get some points on the opposite end. We shot the ball terrible, terrible in the first half. We shot the ball terrible pretty much the whole game but I think our defense is what allowed us to stay in the game. To keep them (Suns) under 100 points in regulation, that's a tough thing to do with that team. I think we did a good job and at the end of the game they hit some big shots.”
TREVOR ARIZA
(On the loss) ”It was real tough. You know, down the stretch we were in the game. We couldn't pull it out.”
(On his 3 point shot at the end) “That's what my team wants me to do, to be aggressive. When I'm aggressive it tends to open up things for other people so that's what I did tonight. We just didn't come out on top.”
(On the importance of making free throws) “We can say that free throws is a part of why we lost but down the stretch we made a few mistakes offensively and I think that's what cost us more than the free throws.”
SHANE BATTIER
(On the tough loss) “We had a really tough night overall shooting the ball, especially in the first quarter and they (Suns) really make you pay for missing shots. They get out on the break and they had 20 fast break points in the first half. Once we started making some shots, we slowed them down a bit and that allowed us to get back in the game. I'm proud of the way we fought. We fought hard. We could have gave in to them. We just didn't make enough plays at the end to win the game.”
(On the Rockets confidence in overtime) “I thought that we were confident in overtime. We said we fought hard, we got back into the game after Trevor's shot and we thought it was our game to win, especially after (Amare) Stoudemire fouled out, who was giving us problems all night. We couldn't make the crucial stops that we needed to in the last two minutes of overtime.”
CHASE BUDINGER
(On the tough loss) “Yeah, it's a tough one to swallow. We fought back hard in the second half. Trevor (Ariza) made an amazing shot to put us into overtime and I really thought that kind of put a bit of momentum on our side, but Phoenix did a heck of a job executing and getting shots.”
(On Phoenix executing the pick and roll play) “The key to that play is Steve Nash. Steve Nash is one of the greatest. He is so good at passing when he comes off that pick and roll. He has so many options that if you take one away, he just throws the ball to the other. That's probably the most effective play.”
COACH ALVIN GENTRY
(on the game) “We had to try and find a way to win. We got up early but we knew it was because of their shooting. We knew they’d come back. In the third quarter we got into trouble because we just weren’t able to score.”
(on his team’s play) “I was most pleased that when we needed it, we were able to get the big rebound or basket. We did a good job defensively but we turned the ball over too often in the fourth quarter.”
(on Amare Stoudemire’s play) “Amare has to concentrate and be very aggressive inside. We pounded the ball inside and Amare came through. It was unfortunate that he fouled out because he was scoring at will.”
(on the Rockets) “They are fighters and a team that I’m sure coach Adelman enjoys working with. We knew they would play hard until the final buzzer goes off. They are relentless on the boards, in their pursuit of the ball and their defense.”
GRANT HILL
(on the game) “We knew they would come back. We did a good job defensively but we just couldn’t score in the third quarter. We needed a win like this on the road. We grinded out the win.”
(on Ariza’s 3-pointer at the end of regulation) “That was a crazy shot. We’ve had a lot of shots like that go in this season and there is not much you can do. We didn’t hang our heads and came back for the win,”
AMARE STOUDEMIRE
(on the game and his play) “We did a great job of attacking the baskets and playing smart. Early in the game my jump shot wasn’t falling and I was very aggressive defensively and on the boards. It’s great to be away from home and get away from all the trade rumors. We did a great job as a team and our intensity was there all game. We had to scrap for this win. It was a game of runs and we pulled away at the end.”
ROBIN LOPEZ
(on the game) “Basketball is obviously a game of runs and you have to play through them when the going is tough.”
(on the Rockets comeback) “There was no question that we knew we were going to be in for a battle. They don’t give up and play extremely hard. Early in the season we let games get away on defense and then offensively we weren’t able to respond. We responded to Houston’s run and pulled out the win.”
NOTES
The Rockets rallied from an 18-point deficit to force overtime, but came up short in a 115-111 loss to the Suns. Houston had won three straight overtime games prior to tonight and was 5-1 in its previous six home overtime outings.
Houston has now played in 16 consecutive games decided by 10 points or less (12/29/09-1/31/10), which surpasses the 15 straight outings (1/15/02-2/16/02) by the 2001-02 Rockets for most in franchise history. The NBA record stands at 20 consecutive games by the 1982-83 Indiana Pacers.
The Rockets matched their season high in field goals attempted (106) and set a new season high in 3-point attempts (34) tonight. Overall, the Rockets were 11-of-34 (.324) from beyond the arc. Houston has now reached double digits in 3-pointers made in 12 games this season.
Houston matched its season low for turnovers with eight now done three times (last: 12/19/09 vs. Oklahoma City).
The Suns recorded 20 fast-break points tonight. Phoenix has now scored 18 or more fast-break points in 12 of their last 20 games. The Suns also notched back-to-back 60-point halves against the Rockets, scoring 65 second-half points at Phoenix (1/6/10) and 60 in the first half tonight.
Phoenix set Houston’s opponent season high in free throws made by going 32-of-35 (.914) from the line tonight. The previous high was 29 done twice before (last: 29 FTM on 1/27/10 vs. Denver).
Aaron Brooks registered 24 points (4-11 3FG) and six assists tonight. He has now made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 20 games (12/22/09-1/31/10). Brooks has already set a new career single-season best with 115 3-pointers in 2009-10 (113 3FGM in 2008-09).
Trevor Ariza recorded 21 points (4-10 3FG), seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot tonight. Ariza now owns eight 20-point performances on the season.
Shane Battier posted 11 points (3-12 FG), a team-high 11 rebounds and three steals tonight, marking his third double-double of the season. Battier has now tied for or led the Rockets in rebounds in three of the last five games.
Amaré Stoudemire finished with a season-high 36 points (12-22 FG, 12-12 FT), 11 rebounds and two blocked shots tonight. Stoudemire now owns three outings of 30 or more points this season.
Steve Nash notched 11 points (2-10 FG, 1-6 3FG), 16 assists and a season-high eight rebounds tonight. Nash, who also recorded 12 points (2-10 FG, 8-9 FT) and 16 assists in the last meeting at Houston (11/17/09), once again tied the opponent assist record at Toyota Center (16 assists by Toronto’s Jose Calderon on 3/3/09).
Grant Hill had 19 points (7-11 FG, 5-5 FT) and a season-high three blocked shots tonight. The Suns are now 19-11 when Hill scores 10 or more points this season.
Robin Lopez totaled 14 points (6-8 FG), six rebounds and three blocked shots tonight. Lopez has now scored in double figure in seven of his last 10 games.
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