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Yao vs. Suns - 12/20/03
 Yao Ming fouls Phoenix Sun Jahidi White in the first quarter, and got into foul trouble which limited him to 5 minutes of play in the first half. The Rockets played poorly in the fourth quarter, and lost to a sub-par Phoenix team 102-87. In only 20 minutes of action, Yao scored 14 points, had 4 rebounds and 3 assists. (Photo courtesy AP) |
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SATURDAY, 12/20/03 - The Rockets let a game get away from them they should have won, losing to the 9-17 Phoenix Suns 102-87 on Saturday night. Houston stayed close and traded leads with Phoenix despite Yao getting into early foul trouble. Trailing by only 3 points entering the fourth quarter, the Rockets fell apart and let Phoenix run over them to win it going away.
The pivotal point in the fourth quarter occurred with the Rockets trailing 82-88 around the 2 1/2 minute mark. With the shot clock winding down on the Suns, Steve Francis was playing good defense on Stephon Marbury behind the three-point line, but HE STUPIDLY FOULED HIM WITH ONE SECOND REMAINING WHEN HE DIDN'T NEED TO SINCE MARBURY WAS GOING TO HAVE TO FORCE UP A PRAYER ANYWAY! (Forget what you hear from some Houston announcers who thought otherwise. We analyzed every frame of the replay, and Francis slapped him across the arm). Francis stupidly got ticked at the ref when he knew full well he fouled him, and was called for a technical foul to boot. Combine the technical free throw with the three foul shots that Marbury subsequently sank, and the game was virtually over with the Suns leading 92-82. It's clear Francis doesn't have the temperament to make wise decisions in pressure situations, and when you're a point guard, you're in pressure situations almost all the time. It's amazing to me that he is second in voting for Western Conference All-Star guards behind Kobe. That's a travesty, especially to guards like Marbury who lit up Francis for 20 points (8-of-9 FGs) in the first half and who deserve to go to the All-Star game. Marbury has always owned Francis. When he played in New Jersey, in head-to-head match-ups he averaged 28 points to Francis' 12. Even Houston radio play-by-play man Gene Peterson attested to Francis' inability to neutrailize Marbury when he pointed out, "Francis has not been able to find him all night." Yao's fouls Yao's foul troubles also had a big impact on the game. The Rockets were rolling at the start, taking a 12-5 lead. But since Yao had to exit the game because of early foul trouble, the Suns went on a 15-0 run to lead 20-12. It didn't help that the Rockets turned the ball over on 5-of-6 possessions during that run. Yao then picked up his third foul with 7:21 remaining in the second quarter and didn't play until the start of the third quarter. As a result, the Rockets could have built a big lead rather than settle for the 44-44 tie they had at the half, especially since Amare Stoudemire was not playing since he is on the injured list. No defense for the offense Jim Jackson was a problem for the Rockets offense in the first half, shooting 0-for-8 from the floor. Jackson continues to be inconsistent offensively, and a starting small forward in this league cannot afford to have so many sub-par shooting nights. Jackson wasn't alone, though. The entire Rocket offense shot 36.7% from the floor, with the backcourt of Francis (5-of-13, six turnovers) and Cuttino Mobley (4-of-16, 4 TOs) really dragging them down. The saving grace for Houston was Kelvin Cato, who broke out of a horrid scoring slump (actually, he never scores, so it's not actually a slump) to score a season-high 16 points (14 points in the first half alone) on 6-of-9 shooting. He also had 14 boards, 3 steals and 3 blocks. This is the type of game the Rockets need from their starting power forward every game. But one of Cato's liabilities is the fact that as the Rockets' de facto power forward (instead of the natural center that he is), he does not have the lateral quickness to defend against quicker players on isolation plays, which hurt the Rockets in the fourth quarter when the Rockets' interior defense fell apart. Shawn Marion was one of the Suns who inflicted heavy casualties (15 points in the fourth quarter), as well as Joe Johnson (6 points) to pace the Suns to 12-of-17 shooting in the fourth. So now the Rockets are 15-11, the same record they had last year at this point. This year they should really have won at least 2-3 games more than they have, which would make a big difference in the very competitive Western Conference this season. |
| 1st quarter | ||
| 8:54 |  |
Jim Jackson passes the ball to Yao about 6 feet outside the right edge of the lane while he's facing up to the basket unguarded. The Suns' Jahidi White comes over to defend, and Yao pump fakes to get White to fly past him, then Yao dribbles once and takes two giant steps toward the hoop, elevates off his left foot and lays the ball in off the glass for the deuce! What a sweet move! And it's amazing how much ground Yao can cover without dribbling! He must have canvassed 15 feet to get that bucket!
Suns' analyst and former NBA player Vinny del Negro says, "He could take it from almost the three-point line and just lay it in being 7-6!" Yao is 1-for-2 from the field with 2 points. The Rockets lead 8-3. |
| 8:41 | Yao gets his second foul and has to check out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 8-3. | |
| 2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets trail 17-24. The Rockets had a 12-5 lead, but then the Suns went on a 15-0 run. Yao's checking out of the game probably had alot to do with it both offensively and defensively. Stephon Marbury is schooling Francis, scoring 13 points in the first quarter alone (6-of-6 shooting). Yao was 1-for-2 from the field with 2 points.
At the start of the second quarter, Houston goes on a 7-0 run to tie it at 24-24. |
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| 9:12 | Yao checks back into the game for Kelvin Cato, who has played well by scoring 10 points. The score is tied at 26-26. | |
| 7:28 |  |
Throughout this entire possession, the Rockets pass the ball well around the horn. Maurice Taylor ends up getting the ball on the right wing without about 4 seconds remaining on the shot clock. He then penetrates to the right edge of the lane, and Yao does a great job of sliding into the lane ahead of him. Taylor goes up to put up what looks like its a jump shot, but he actually passes the ball to Yao right in front of the rim. Yao goes up to catch the ball, then comes down, goes back up, but then PUMP FAKES to throw off Jahidi White's block attempt, and Yao then lays it in a tenth of a second before the 24-second shot clock buzzer goes off, and he's fouled by White! Yao pumps his fist with satisfaction that he got the shot off just in time, and that he'll get to go to the free throw line!
Yao proceeds to make the free throw, and the Rockets now only trail 29-30. Yao has 5 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field. |
| 7:21 | The Suns' Shawn Marion goes up for an alley-oop dunk attempt at the rim, and Yao comes over to try to deflect the pass away, but he and Marion get to the ball almost at the same time and Yao's arm hits Marion's, and Yao is called for foul. Give credit to the Suns for being aggressive, but also to Yao for going after the pass. That's Yao's third foul, so he has to check out of the game for Cato. After Marion makes both free throws, the Suns lead 32-29. | |
| Halftime - The Rockets lead 44-44 at halftime, the first time they have been tied at the half this season. Yao only has 5 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field. He only played 5 minutes because of foul trouble, but Kelvin Cato has made up for it by scoring 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Jim Jackson is struggling, shooting 0-for-8 from the field.
Stephon Marbury is still killing Francis and the Rockets with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Francis has only 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting. The Rockets are shooting 38% from the field, whereas the Suns are shooting 44%. The Rockets took care of the ball in the second quarter, turning over the ball once after turning it over 7 times in the first quarter. They also have 6 steals. |
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| 3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter. | ||
| 10:34 |  |
Jim Jackson passes the ball to Yao, who is guarded one-on-one by Jahidi White along the left edge of the lane. Suns' play-by-play announcer Gary Bender exclaims, "Boy, he just dwarfs Jahidi White. I mean Jahidi White looks like he's a midget compared to him."
Yao dribbles once, then spins baseline on White, who is left wondering "what happened?" Yao then leans back and shoots a fadeaway jumper and DRAINS IT! The Rockets lead 48-44. Yao is now 3-for-4 from the field with 7 points. |
| 9:25 |  |
Joe Johnson spins into the lane, fumbles the ball, but picks it up and tries to shoot one over Yao in front of the rim, BUT YAO SWATS IT AWAY EMPHATICALLY! That's Yao's first block of the game. |
| 9:21 |
Jahidi White drives into the lane, and Yao follows alongside him to contest the shot. White jumps into the air and Yao slightly brushes against him. White did a good acting job on this play because Cato, who stripped the ball out of White's hands, and White made it look like he was fouled. The ref probably wouldn't have called the foul on Yao if White hadn't done such a great acting job. After learning that he was called for the foul, Yao was more animated than ever! He yelled, "WHAT!?" and bent down in disgust and walked away!
That's his 4th foul, and he has to check out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The score is 48-44, Houston leads. |
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| 4th quarter - After three quarters, the Rockets trail 61-64. Yao has only played 9 minutes in the game, and he has 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. | ||
| 10:58 | Free Throws |
Yao is fouled, and he goes to the line. He makes both free throws and he now has 9 points (3-for-3 from the line). The Rockets trail 63-64. |
| 9:26 | Yao is fouled by Jahidi White deep in the paint, and he goes to the line. Yao makes both free throws, and the score is tied 67-67. Yao is now 5-for-5 from the line, and has 11 points. | |
| 5:41 |  |
Yao misses an open jumper along the left elbow of the lane. He is now 3-for-5 from the field and has 11 points. |
| 3:27 | Free Throws |
Yao is fouled going after a rebound, and he goes to the line. He makes the first free throw, but misses the second! Yao is 5-for-6 from the line and has 12 points. The Rockets trail 80-86. |
| 2:14 |  |
Yao gets the ball down low and tries to put up a shot in front of the rim, but he is blocked by Shawn Marion. Yao might have been fouled, but it doesn't really matter because the game is practically over since the Rockets trail 82-92. Yao is now 3-for-6 from the field with 12 points. |
| 1:03 |  |
Yao dunks one home to make the score 84-96. He is now 4-for-7 from the field, and has 14 points. The Rockets go on to lose 102-87. In 20 minutes of play (because of foul trouble), Yao finishes with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. |
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