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Yao vs. Spurs - 12/11/03
 Tim Duncan ties up Yao for a jump ball on Thursday night in Houston. The Spurs beat the Rockets 71-67 to end Houston's 4-game winning streak. Yao struggled offensively, finishing with 8 points, 10 rebounds, and one block. (Photo courtesy AP) |
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THURSDAY, 12/11/03 - The Rockets-Spurs game in Toyota Center was definitely not the picture of health the NBA wants to convey to fans across the globe. We had a feeling the game was going to be a low-scoring affair since Houston and San Antonio are first and second in the league in holding their opponents to the lowest field goal percentages. But this was insane. Houston had a season-low 8 points in the second quarter; however, San Antonio wasn't much better with 12 points.
The most telling stat was that collectively, both teams scored the lowest number of points ever (55) by a halftime in NBA history. To add to the strangeness, at the end of 3 quarters, Yao only had 6 points, and Tim Duncan had 12. With 9:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Rockets had only attempted 4 free throws, with Yao attempting none. Although the scoring went up in the final quarter, the final score was still only Spurs 71, Rockets 67. To add insult to injury, the Rockets 4-game winning streak and 7-game win streak at home was snapped. It was incredible to watch this game where every trip down the court seemed to either be a missed shot, stripped ball, block, or turnover. Although it was awful to observe, you know this is the type of game the Rockets need to learn how to win when it comes time to play slow-it-down slugfests in the playoffs. Coming into the game, San Antonio had won only one game against an opponent that had a winning record. So in theory, Houston should have won this game considering they were in first place in the division. But this is Houston, which has been up-and-down all season. It's also the I-10 rivalry we're talking about, where you can throw won-loss records out the window because anything can happen. And remember we're talking about the 2003 NBA champion Spurs. Their experience was too much to overcome when Tim Duncan took over late in the game. Here's how it went for the MVP in fourth quarter money time: He scored over Yao with 6:27 remaining and was fouled to close the Spur deficit to 53-55. He also hit a jump shot over Kelvin Cato from near the free throw line to make it 55-57. On the next play for the Rockets, he blocked a Cuttino Mobley layup attempt. Then with 1:52 remaining, he scored over Mo Taylor to put the Spurs up 65-61. Since Taylor is too short to give Duncan fits defensively, the Rockets put Yao Ming on him the next time down. It didn't work - Duncan scored on him, too, and drew a foul on Yao to put the game out of reach 68-63 with 1:25 remaining. Essentially, Duncan did to the Rockets what Yao did to the Blazers just two days previously in Houston, but more impressively. In short, Duncan is the standard to which Yao is aspiring. After showing poise in the Portland game, Yao struggled from the field when the Rockets needed buckets, shooting only 4-for-13 and scoring 8 points to go with his 10 rebounds and 1 block. On his last field goal attempt with 2:14 remaining, it was an awkward shot that just didn't have the smoothness and poise that Duncan had on his last set of shots. Although Duncan was only 8-for-21 from the field, he scored big buckets when they needed him. Although it's no fun to see the Rockets lose or not see Yao dominate, he got to play against a master (Duncan), which can only help him. It kind of reminds me of the 1995 NBA Finals when Hakeem Olajuwon showed all of his mental and physical skills on the way to sweeping the Orlando Magic and a young Shaquille O'Neal, who exhibited lots of raw talent and had a few nice offensive moves. Now look at where Shaq is. He learned from it, and so will Yao. And don't forget, Yao actually had very good performances last year against Duncan and David Robinson last year, so he's not too far away. Yao is too smart to not improve to Duncan-like levels, and he is only 22 years old. I remember Hakeem saying that during his off-seasons, he would master one additional shot and/or offensive move in order to keep the defense guessing. Yao has a handful of moves right now, but will continue adding to his repertoire to make him Duncan-like in the league someday soon. Now the Rockets go to San Antonio to play the second game of their back-to-back on Saturday. If the Spurs win that game, it will be their 20th victory against Houston in their last 22 match-ups, which will continue to keep the Spur monkey on their backs. |
| 1st quarter - Kelvin Cato jumps the opening tip for the Rockets. | ||
| 9:23 |  |
Yao misses a jumper from the right side of the lane. He is 0-for-1 for the game. |
| 9:03 |  |
The Rockets swing the ball around the perimeter to three different players, the last one being Cuttino Mobley. Cuttino sees Yao getting great position on Nesterovic along the left edge of the lane and delivers a perfect lead pass to him so that he catches it with no one between himself and the basket. Yao lays it up off the glass for the deuce! Nice timing between Mobley and Yao! The Rockets lead 4-2. Yao is 1-for-2 from the field. |
| 8:46 | Great Defense! | Yao gets Duncan to charge into him, but no foul is called on Duncan. At least Duncan turned the ball over! |
| 8:06 |  |
After setting a pick for Steve Francis, Kelvin Cato rolls from the pick and gets passed the ball outside the lane while moving toward the basket. Cato takes two steps toward the bucket and gets Spur center Nesterovic to commit, then Cato wraps a pass to Yao, who is in the middle of the lane. Without any hesitation, YAO GOES UP AND SLAMS IT DOWN WITH AUTHORITY USING HIS RIGH-HAND!! Yao is now 2-for-3 from the field with 4 points. |
| 3:53 |   |
Yao misses a little hook shot in the lane along the baseline over Nesterovic, but he gets the rebound in the paint and has his follow-up shot blocked by Duncan and is tied up for a jump ball situation. Yao is now 2-for-5 from the field with 4 points. |
| 3:42 |  |
Yao misses a baseline jumper on the right side of the basket. |
| 3:35 | Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. Houston trails 15-17. Yao has 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field. | |
| 2nd quarter - The Rockets trail 17-18 at the end of the first quarter. Yao is 2-for-6 from the field with 4 points. Yao starts the quarter. | ||
| 11:31 |  |
Yao misses a dunk! It looks like he is catching "Cato-itis!" Looking at the replay, it looks like Robert Horry bumped into him just slightly, but he still should have been able to finish the dunk. |
| 6:01 |  |
Yao gets the ball just outside the lane on the left side. Guarded by Nesterovic, Yao dribbles to the edge of the lane, pump fakes a shot which gets Nesterovic to bite and jump in the air. Nesterovic lands and bumps into Yao on the way down, and Yao puts up a shot in order to get the referee to call the foul, BUT NO WHISTLE IS BLOWN! WHERE'S THE CALL, REF? Yao's half-serious shot attempt doesn't hit the rim, and as a result the official scorer thinks that Nesterovic blocked Yao's shot and gives him credit for a rejection! WHAT A CROCK!!! So that shot counts against Yao in the stat column, and he is now 2-for-8 from the field. The score is tied 23-23. |
| 4:26 |  |
From the 3-point line, Manu Ginobili drives past Cuttino Mobley into the middle of the lane and puts up a little floater, BUT YAO IS THERE TO SWAT IT AND CATCH THE LOOSE BALL IN MID-AIR ALL IN ONE MOTION! That is Yao's first block of the game! The Rockets trail 23-25. |
| 4:00 | Yao checks out of the game for Cato. Yao is 2-for-8 from the field with 4 points. | |
| 3:25 | Yao checks into the game for Scott Padgett. | |
| 2:18 |  |
Yao misses a spot-up jumper from near the elbow of the lane area. Yao is 2-for-9 from the floor with 4 points. The Rockets trail 23-25. |
| Halftime - The Rockets trail 25-30, the lowest halftime total in NBA history since the shot clock came into existence. Yao has 4 points on 2-of-9 shooting. | ||
| 3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter. | ||
| 9:42 | Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor after fouling Nesterovic on an offensive foul. Yao is still 2-for-9 from the field. The Rockets trail 27-34. | |
| 2:23 | With the Rockets trailing 39-42, Yao checks back into the game just before Robert Horry shoots his second free throw attempt at the line. Horry misses the free throw, but Duncan easily gets inside position on Yao as he legally bulls his way to the hoop for the rebound and tip-in. It looks like Yao wasn't mentally ready to box-out Duncan. The Spurs lead 44-39. | |
| 1:26 |  |
Yao misses a jump hook in the lane that's too hard off the back iron. The Rockets trail 41-44. |
| 0:50.0 |  |
Yao gets the ball along the left edge of the lane facing the basket. Yao makes a nice move into the lane that pushes Horry backwards a bit, pump fakes, then jumps and lays the ball in off the glass over Horry! We like it when Yao gets the ball while moving and facing the basket. They seem like higher percentage shots. The Rockets trail 43-44. Yao is 3-for-11 and has 6 points. |
| 4th quarter - Spurs lead 46-45. | ||
| 6:43 |  |
Yao gets the ball outside the left side of the lane, posting up Kevin Willis. Yao spins and dribbles once toward the baseline, then reverse pivots away from the baseline, then jumps into the air while twisting in corkscrew fashion to shoot a very difficult fallaway jumper with Willis' hand in his face. The ball hits the back iron, bounces high above the cylinder, then drops through the net for the bucket!
Spurs' broadcaster Lance Blanks says: "What a shot! I don't think he even saw that go in. Very impressive. A fadeaway from a 7'5" guy. Almost impossible to contest." Yao is now 4-for-12 from the field with 8 points. The Rockets lead 55-50. |
| 2:14 |  |
The Rockets trail 61-63. Yao misses an awkward jump hook in the lane. He is now 4-for-13 from the field. The Rockets go on to lose 67-71. He finishes with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block. |
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