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Yao vs. Wizards - 2/27/03

Michael Jordan guards Yao in probably their final NBA game as pros together. The old veteran got the better of Yao and Houston. Wizards 100, Rockets 98.

The Rockets lost a heartbreaker to the Washington Wizards at the MCI Center Thursday night in front of a national TV audience. They stunk it up in the first three quarters after trailing by more than 24 points at one time, and by 18 points in the fourth quarter. At that point, we could just imagine the potential post-game reasons on why they performed so poorly, like, "we're fatigued because we were playing our 7th game in 10 days," or "4 of our last 9 games have gone into overtime."

But behind an incredible effort by Maurice Taylor, the Rockets stormed back to tie the game at the end of regulation. Maurice scored 21 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime period (10-of-12 field goals overall). But like most close games this season, the Rockets couldn't seal the deal and lost 100-98 in OT.

Since the Rockets finished strong in this game and gained back some of the respect they lost in the first 3 quarters of the game, we'll refrain from ripping into them. After all, they only had 8 turnovers the entire game, Cuttino had 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting (including a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game). Yao also contributed 16 points on 11 rebounds. They also showed the nation just how explosive they can be when their offense is clicking. But it would have been nice to have overcome that 24-point deficit, and 18-point deficit in the 4th quarter, making it the largest comeback in franchise history.

Several things held them back in this game, like:

Michael Jordan being his immortal self, scoring 35 points and 11 rebounds on a bad leg that we thought was going to keep him from playing. He also took over in OT and scored 10 of the 12 Wizard points in the extra period.
Stevie Francis was 1-for-13 from the field
Maurice Taylor committed a silly tap foul on Jordan as MJ was scoring on a layup rather than making sure he didn't get the shot off
Juaquin Hawkins missed 4 free throws and 'flopped' a couple of times guarding Jordan, which didn't work
Yao and Steve didn't call a time-out after they gained possession off a Wizard missed field goal, and the Rockets had one last opportunity to tie or win it. Instead, they opted to start a fast break with only a few seconds left on the clock. There are pros and cons to that strategy. We're not too bent-out-of-shape for the Rockets not calling time-out and instead trying to fast break because Francis had made stop-and-pop 3-pointers in the past after having a bad shooting night. What really foiled up Francis' shot attempt was Jordan catching up to Francis to potentially block his shot from behind. Francis could feel Jordan coming on, so wisely he decided in mid-air to pass it off to Mobley. Surprisingly, for the second time in consecutive games, Rudy T. commented how his team needs to stop making mistakes (Rudy thought they should have called timeout). We figure it's never too late for Rudy to acknowledge those areas where the Rockets need to get better.
Although the Rockets had 1 win and 2 losses on this trip, what was exciting about this East Coast swing was the great turnout of Yao fans in Boston, New York and Washington where they only get the chance to see him play once per year. And boy, were they vocal! We loved it!

With this loss, the Rockets are one game behind Phoenix for the last playoff seed in the Western Conference. They now have a two-day break before playing San Antonio on Sunday in Compaq Center at 3:00 pm Houston time.

Click here for special photos from the Rockets - Wizards game!

Detailed Yao Analysis
vs. Washington Wizards 2/27/03

1st quarter - Yao starts the game.

11:28 On the Rockets first possession of the game, Yao gets the ball on the the left side just outside the paint. Defended by Brendan Haywood, Yao pump fakes, then dribbles once toward the lane, stops, pump fakes again, AND THEN TAKES A GIANT STEP TO THE OTHER SIDE OF HAYWOOD AND LEANS TOWARD THE BASKET AND SCOOPS AN UNDERHAND SHOT OFF THE GLASS AND INTO THE BUCKET! Yao has tried this play at least once before, and it worked then, too. The Rockets lead 2-0.

TNT play-by-play man Marv Albert says, "Yao is continuing to add to the repertoire!"

5:54 Steve Francis drives the lane with Yao running beside him into the lane. Francis puts a tough shot off the glass that doesn't draw iron, BUT YAO GRABS THE CAROM IN MID-AIR AND THUNDERS DOWN A TWO-HANDED DUNK! The Washington crowd oohs and aahs! It's almost like Steve was throwing a pass to Yao off the glass. The Rockets trail 12-15. Yao has 4 points on 2-of-2 shooting.

2:26 Guarded by Haywood just outside the lane on the left side, Yao gets the ball from James Posey. Yao then goes straight up for a jumper AND SCORE THE BASKET! The crowd roars again! Rockets are down by 7, 16-23. Yao is now 3-for-4 with 6 points.

:19 Yao checks out of the game.

2nd quarter - The Rockets trail 20-29. The Wizards shot 78% in the first quarter. Yao is 3-for-5 with 6 points.

5:00 Yao enters the game for Moochie Norris. The Rockets trail 26-45.

:32.8 Juaquin Hawkins passes the ball to Yao on the left side outside the paint, then Hawk cuts toward the basket. YAO THEN PASSES A BEHIND-THE-HEAD FLIP PASS TO HAWKINS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE. HAWK IS THEN HACKED HARD BY CHARLES OAKLEY. Hawkins goes to the line a bit dazed, and misses both free throws.

:30 Yao checks out for Glen Rice.

Halftime - The Rockets trail 29-55. Yao is 3-for-6 from the floor. Houston didn't score in the last 4:25 of the second quarter, and trail 55-35. The Wizards went on a 15-3 run in the last 6 1/2 minutes. Francis is 1-for-7 from the field.

3rd Quarter - Yao starts the quarter.

10:39 From the left edge of the paint, Yao puts head fakes on Brendan Haywood, then turns for a fallaway jumper, but Haywood times it perfectly to block Yao's shot! Looking at the replay, Yao didn't jump very high, and he also shot it with a little bit of a double-pump as he started coming down from his jump. Yao does that alot, but in this case it wasn't necessary because it gave Haywood a split second more to recover from being out of position for a block.

The Wizards come down and ally-oop a slam dunk to Stackhouse, and the Wizards lead 59-35.

6:26 Yao gets the ball down low on the left side of the basket, fakes a couple of times on Haywood, then turns toward the basket and puts up a shot off the glass, but Haywood blocks it again! This time we've got to give credit to Haywood for sticking with it and timing the block perfectly.

4:02 Mobley dribbles around and gets a pick from Yao near the elbow of the free throw line, then MOBLEY SPOTS YAO IN THE PAINT AND BOUNCES A PERFECT PASS TO HIM, AND YAO THROWS IT DOWN WITH ONE-HAND! Although they are in D.C., the crowd loves it! Perfect execution of the high pick-and-roll. The Rockets traiil 49-67. Yao has 8 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

2:50 Yao gets the ball on the left block, then turns left into the lane, jump off his left foot for a hook shot attempt over Brendan Haywood, and...NOTHING BUT NYLON! And THE D.C. CROWD ROARS! This guy is like a rock star!

After this shot, Marv Albert says, "Beautiful move by Yao, and he is hearing it from the crowd as he did in New York this past Tuesday night."

Yao is 5-for-10 from the field with 10 points.

:30 Yao checks out of the game for Glen Rice. It would normally be Kelvin Cato, but Cato had to check out of the game because of a thumb injury.

4th quarter - The Rockets trail 58-74. Yao has 10 points, and is still out of the game at the start of the quarter.

3:48 The Rockets have come storming back in the fourth quarter, trailing by as much as 18 points, to cut the deficit to 76-82. Yao grabs a defensive rebound, passes it to Steve, then Yao outruns everyone down the court to position himself for a perfect ally-oop pass from Steve! Great hustle shown by Yao, who then catches Steve's pass in mid-air near the rim, but he misses the dunk after being fouled (but no foul was called)! However, the miss comes to Maurice Taylor, who immediately shoots a jump hook over Christian Laetter. SCORE IT!! The Rockets now trail 78-82 and the crowd is dumbfounded about how the Wizard lead has evaporated! The Rockets have gone on a 10-0 run in the past 2:30 minutes.

2:25
Free
Throws Steve Francis drives to the hole, but then passes to Yao in the middle of the lane, and Yao drives to the hole for a layup, but he misses. However, he grabs the rebound underneath the rim and goes up strong for a dunk attempt, but he's fouled!!

Yao calmly steps to the line and swishes both! After each made free throw, you can hear a large contingent yelling their approval! A crowd shot on television shows Chinese fans jumping up and down and smiling after Yao's free throws. Yao has 12 points, and is 2-for-2 from the line.

:28
Free
Throws With the Rockets trailing 83-86 and the shot clock down to 4 seconds, Yao gets the ball in the middle of the lane and puts a leaning shot over Haywood, but Haywood deflects it. Yao grabs the missed attempt and puts up a shot, and is fouled.

Yao makes both free throws, and again the Chinese contingent is ecstatic that Yao has closed the gap to 85-86. These Yao fans are definitely getting their money's worth tonight! Yao has 14 points (5-of-13 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line).

:13.3 Mobley hits a clutch 3-pointer to tie it at 88. Michael Jordan misses a last second jumper that can win it, and the game goes into overtime.

Overtime - Yao starts the overtime period. The score is tied 88-88.

3:44 Yao gets the ball in the middle of the paint again, guarded one-on-one by Laettner. Yao turns, shoots, and scores! Not only does a big portion of the crowd love it, but so does James Posey, who is the only Rocket off the bench flapping his towel encouraging his teammates. For being a calm, cool and collected customer, Posey is really showing some enthusiasm! For good reason: Yao just put his team up 92-90. Yao has 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field.

1:13 On a very controversial call, Jordan leans in to put up a shot over Yao, and Yao rejects it! But the officials call goaltending. Replays show it might not have been a goaltend. This is a huge call because it puts the Wizards up 98-94 with only 1:13 remaining. Yao later said the following: "I couldn't believe it. I thought I had a block."

Here's what TNT had to say:

Mike Fratello: "To me, it doesn't look like it was above the rim. I think he may have had a good block on that one."

Jeff Van Gundy: "I think that was absolutely a clean block."

Jerry Stackhouse later hits a desperate shot with 1 second left on the shot clock to put the Wizards up 100-96. The Rockets go on to lose it 100-98. Yao finishes with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 4-of-4 from the line, and racked up 11 rebounds.

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1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
11:28		On the Rockets first possession of the game, Yao gets the ball on the the left side just outside the paint. Defended by Brendan Haywood, Yao pump fakes, then dribbles once toward the lane, stops, pump fakes again, AND THEN TAKES A GIANT STEP TO THE OTHER SIDE OF HAYWOOD AND LEANS TOWARD THE BASKET AND SCOOPS AN UNDERHAND SHOT OFF THE GLASS AND INTO THE BUCKET! Yao has tried this play at least once before, and it worked then, too. The Rockets lead 2-0. TNT play-by-play man Marv Albert says, "Yao is continuing to add to the repertoire!"
5:54		Steve Francis drives the lane with Yao running beside him into the lane. Francis puts a tough shot off the glass that doesn't draw iron, BUT YAO GRABS THE CAROM IN MID-AIR AND THUNDERS DOWN A TWO-HANDED DUNK! The Washington crowd oohs and aahs! It's almost like Steve was throwing a pass to Yao off the glass. The Rockets trail 12-15. Yao has 4 points on 2-of-2 shooting.
2:26		Guarded by Haywood just outside the lane on the left side, Yao gets the ball from James Posey. Yao then goes straight up for a jumper AND SCORE THE BASKET! The crowd roars again! Rockets are down by 7, 16-23. Yao is now 3-for-4 with 6 points.
:19		Yao checks out of the game.
2nd quarter - The Rockets trail 20-29. The Wizards shot 78% in the first quarter. Yao is 3-for-5 with 6 points.
5:00		Yao enters the game for Moochie Norris. The Rockets trail 26-45.
:32.8		Juaquin Hawkins passes the ball to Yao on the left side outside the paint, then Hawk cuts toward the basket. YAO THEN PASSES A BEHIND-THE-HEAD FLIP PASS TO HAWKINS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE. HAWK IS THEN HACKED HARD BY CHARLES OAKLEY. Hawkins goes to the line a bit dazed, and misses both free throws.
:30		Yao checks out for Glen Rice.
Halftime - The Rockets trail 29-55. Yao is 3-for-6 from the floor. Houston didn't score in the last 4:25 of the second quarter, and trail 55-35. The Wizards went on a 15-3 run in the last 6 1/2 minutes. Francis is 1-for-7 from the field.
3rd Quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
10:39		From the left edge of the paint, Yao puts head fakes on Brendan Haywood, then turns for a fallaway jumper, but Haywood times it perfectly to block Yao's shot! Looking at the replay, Yao didn't jump very high, and he also shot it with a little bit of a double-pump as he started coming down from his jump. Yao does that alot, but in this case it wasn't necessary because it gave Haywood a split second more to recover from being out of position for a block. The Wizards come down and ally-oop a slam dunk to Stackhouse, and the Wizards lead 59-35.
6:26		Yao gets the ball down low on the left side of the basket, fakes a couple of times on Haywood, then turns toward the basket and puts up a shot off the glass, but Haywood blocks it again! This time we've got to give credit to Haywood for sticking with it and timing the block perfectly.
4:02		Mobley dribbles around and gets a pick from Yao near the elbow of the free throw line, then MOBLEY SPOTS YAO IN THE PAINT AND BOUNCES A PERFECT PASS TO HIM, AND YAO THROWS IT DOWN WITH ONE-HAND! Although they are in D.C., the crowd loves it! Perfect execution of the high pick-and-roll. The Rockets traiil 49-67. Yao has 8 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
2:50		Yao gets the ball on the left block, then turns left into the lane, jump off his left foot for a hook shot attempt over Brendan Haywood, and...NOTHING BUT NYLON! And THE D.C. CROWD ROARS! This guy is like a rock star! After this shot, Marv Albert says, *"Beautiful move by Yao, and he is hearing it from the crowd as he did in New York this past Tuesday night."* Yao is 5-for-10 from the field with 10 points.
:30		Yao checks out of the game for Glen Rice. It would normally be Kelvin Cato, but Cato had to check out of the game because of a thumb injury.
4th quarter - The Rockets trail 58-74. Yao has 10 points, and is still out of the game at the start of the quarter.
3:48		The Rockets have come storming back in the fourth quarter, trailing by as much as 18 points, to cut the deficit to 76-82. Yao grabs a defensive rebound, passes it to Steve, then Yao outruns everyone down the court to position himself for a perfect ally-oop pass from Steve! Great hustle shown by Yao, who then catches Steve's pass in mid-air near the rim, but he misses the dunk after being fouled (but no foul was called)! However, the miss comes to Maurice Taylor, who immediately shoots a jump hook over Christian Laetter. SCORE IT!! The Rockets now trail 78-82 and the crowd is dumbfounded about how the Wizard lead has evaporated! The Rockets have gone on a 10-0 run in the past 2:30 minutes.
2:25	Free Throws	Steve Francis drives to the hole, but then passes to Yao in the middle of the lane, and Yao drives to the hole for a layup, but he misses. However, he grabs the rebound underneath the rim and goes up strong for a dunk attempt, but he's fouled!! Yao calmly steps to the line and swishes both! After each made free throw, you can hear a large contingent yelling their approval! A crowd shot on television shows Chinese fans jumping up and down and smiling after Yao's free throws. Yao has 12 points, and is 2-for-2 from the line.
:28	Free Throws	With the Rockets trailing 83-86 and the shot clock down to 4 seconds, Yao gets the ball in the middle of the lane and puts a leaning shot over Haywood, but Haywood deflects it. Yao grabs the missed attempt and puts up a shot, and is fouled. Yao makes both free throws, and again the Chinese contingent is ecstatic that Yao has closed the gap to 85-86. These Yao fans are definitely getting their money's worth tonight! Yao has 14 points (5-of-13 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line).
:13.3		Mobley hits a clutch 3-pointer to tie it at 88. Michael Jordan misses a last second jumper that can win it, and the game goes into overtime.
Overtime - Yao starts the overtime period. The score is tied 88-88.
3:44		Yao gets the ball in the middle of the paint again, guarded one-on-one by Laettner. Yao turns, shoots, and scores! Not only does a big portion of the crowd love it, but so does James Posey, who is the only Rocket off the bench flapping his towel encouraging his teammates. For being a calm, cool and collected customer, Posey is really showing some enthusiasm! For good reason: Yao just put his team up 92-90. Yao has 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field.
1:13		On a very controversial call, Jordan leans in to put up a shot over Yao, and Yao rejects it! But the officials call goaltending. Replays show it might not have been a goaltend. This is a huge call because it puts the Wizards up 98-94 with only 1:13 remaining. Yao later said the following: *"I couldn't believe it. I thought I had a block."* Here's what TNT had to say: Mike Fratello: *"To me, it doesn't look like it was above the rim. I think he may have had a good block on that one."* Jeff Van Gundy: *"I think that was absolutely a clean block."* Jerry Stackhouse later hits a desperate shot with 1 second left on the shot clock to put the Wizards up 100-96. The Rockets go on to lose it 100-98. Yao finishes with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 4-of-4 from the line, and racked up 11 rebounds.