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Yao vs. Sonics - 4/12/04
 Yao gets hacked by the Sonics' Vitaly Potapenko on Monday night in Seattle on his way to a 20-point game and a 111-107 Rockets victory. With the win, the Rockets clinched the #7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. To see more photos from the game, click here. (Photo courtesy AP). |
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WEDNESDAY, 4/14/04 - If you want to see how Yao's performance improved in the Sonics' game on Monday night (compared to recent games where he has struggled), check out the Detailed Yao Analysis below. Also, I have included new quotes from both Yao (in "What Yao is Saying" below) and Van Gundy (in "What 'they' are saying") on why Yao struggled recently, and what Yao will need to do in the playoffs for the Rockets to succeed.
MONDAY, 4/12/04 - By beating the Seattle SuperSonics 111-107 Monday night, the Rockets finally clinched the #7 spot in the Western Conference playoffs, a feat they have been trying to accomplish for weeks. As a result, the Rockets will either have to play the Lakers or Sacramento in Round #1 of the playoffs later this week. If it's the Lakers, it may not be so bad since they can be just as inconsistent as the Rockets, as evidenced by their failing to show up in a blowout game on Sunday against Sacramento, which figured long ago to be the biggest game of the year for the Lakers. If it's the Kings the Rockets play, they will most certainly be knocked out of the playoffs in the first round because of their dominance of the Rockets this year, and for the past several years. But at least this night for the Rockets, the future looked encouraging as they got great production from their bench because Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley were nursing injuries. Boki Nachbar got his second start of the season, and he did a decent job by shooting 4-of-8, including 3 treys, in 41 minutes. But the big story was Mark Jackson surprising everyone by subbing for Francis and scoring a game-high 25 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 14-of-17 from the line. He also only had 3 turnovers in 39 minutes of action. What a nice perk that is to get from your starting point guard. Jim Jackson had a monster first quarter by scoring 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three-point land. He had 22 points overall. Yao was the third highest scorer for the Rockets, scoring 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting. It was nice to see Yao snap out of the funk he had been in recently. Thanks to Jackson's treys, Houston jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter and led 34-25 heading into the second quarter. In that same quarter, Mark Jackson chipped in with a strong 10 points (5-for-5 from the line). The Rockets cooled off in the second quarter and only shot 6-of-15 from the field -- but kudos go to Maurice Taylor who had 4 of those field goals in five attempts. On the other hand, Seattle made 11-of-21 and pulled within 3 points by halftime, trailing 56-53. The Rockets came out of halftime and outscored Seattle 33-19 in the third quarter, and had a 20-point lead at one time. Yao really turned it on and scored 13 points in the quarter (3-for-5 from the field, 7-for-7 from the line). The Rockets appeared safe headed into the fourth quarter, leading 89-72. But that's when Houston cooled off and shot only 33% from the field while Seattle went on a 22-9 run to pull within four points, 98-94, with 3:47 remaining and 102-100 with 49.2 seconds remaining. But Nachbar hit a huge three-pointer off a great Yao pass out of a double-team to make the game 105-100 and to give the Rockets an advantage as Mark Jackson and Jim Jackson made six free throws the rest of the way to seal the game. It was great seeing Nachbar nail that crucial shot from behind the arc. He also drew an important charging foul late in the game to help the Rockets hold off the hard-charging Sonics. Hopefully those two plays will be the catalyst for greater things to come from Boki. He has needed some big plays to get confidence, and hopefully because of these plays he will be able to take himself to the next level. |
| 1st quarter | ||
| 3:49 |  |
Yao gets the ball on the right edge of the lane with Vitaly Potapenko guarding him one-on-one. Yao spins to his right and turns quickly into the lane, elevates and puts up a little 5-footer that's good! Yao is 1-for-1 from the field, and the Rockets have gotten off to a fast start and lead 26-11! |
| 3:21 |  |
Yao misses a long jumper from the top of the key. He is now 1-for-2 from the field, and the Rockets lead 26-13. |
| 2:52 |  |
Yao gets the ball a couple of feet outside the left edge of the lane, then quickly spins baseline on Potapenko, drives past him on the baseline, elevates and slams it home! We love how Yao didn't try to finesse it, but went up strong with the dunk! He is now 2-for-3 from the field, and the Rockets lead 28-15. |
| 1:07 | Yao checks out of the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. Yao has 4 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field. | |
| 2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets lead 34-25. Houston jumped out to a 20-5 lead at the beginning of the game. Jim Jackson led the Rockets in scoring on 6-of-7 shooting (5-of-6 from three-point land) with 18 points. Surprisingly, Mark Jackson (who is playing for the injured Steve Francis) had 10 points. | ||
| 6:47 | Yao checks into the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. The Rockets lead 41-35. | |
| 4:44 |  |
With the shot clock ticking down to 0, the Rockets inbound the ball to Yao behind the three-point line. Really having no choice, Yao is forced to throw up a long three-pointer that misses. That is Yao's second 3-point attempt of the season, and the first since November 1st! It's unbelievable he hasn't been tempted this season to take more three-pointers, even though he can hit them. Talk about discipline! Yao is now 2-for-4 from the field with 4 points. |
| 3:50 |  |
With the Sonics' on offense, Rashard Lewis grabs an airball on the right side of the rim and elevates underneath the basket for a reverse layup attempt, BUT YAO IS THERE TO BLOCK IT AT THE RIM! Lewis grabs the loose ball in front of the hoop and goes up again for a shot, this time with a right-handed hook in the lane, BUT YAO IS ABLE TO CONTEST THE SHOT TO MAKE THE SHOT MORE DIFFICULT FOR LEWIS, AND HE MISSES! Yao was all over those shots! |
| 1:09 |  |
Yao misses a fallaway jumper along the left baseline. He is now 2-for-5 from the field with 4 points. The Rockets lead 50-48. |
| 1:02 | Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 50-48. | |
| Halftime - The Sonics outscored the Rockets 28-22 in the second quarter, but the Rockets still lead 56-53. The Rockets only made 6-of-15 field goal attempts in the second period, and Maurice Taylor made four of them and had 13 points. The Sonics' Vladimir Radmanovic hit two three-pointers and scored 7 points in the quarter. Ronald Murray scored 9 points. | ||
| 3rd Quarter - Yao starts the quarter. | ||
| 11:09 |  |
Yao gets the ball near the middle of the lane, then pivots toward the right edge of the lane and puts up a right-handed hook shot and scores! Yao is now 3-for-6 from the field with 6 points. The Rockets lead 58-55. |
| 10:28 |  + Free Throw |
Yao gets the ball about 2 feet outside the left edge of the lane guarded one-on-one by Potapenko, then spins baseline and dribbles to the basket, elevates, goes up for a dunk, is fouled by Rashard Lewis, and the ball drops for the And-1! Yao goes to the line and makes the penalty free throw, and the Rockets lead 63-55. Yao has 9 points on 4-of-7 shooting. |
| 6:32 |  |
Yao gets the ball 2 feet outside the right edge of the lane, then pump fakes on Potapenko, dribbles once to the left edge of the lane, spins baseline and launches a 7-foot fallaway over Potapenko's outstretched hand, and he swishes it! Yao is now 5-for-8 from the field with 11 points. The Rockets lead 74-61. |
| 6:06 | Free Throws |
Yao gets fouled by Potapenko in the lane, so Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. He is now 3-for-3 from the line and has 13 points. The Rockets lead 76-61. |
| 4:54 | Free Throws |
Potapenko hacks Yao on the arm as he goes up for a shot in the lane (see photo above), so once again Yao goes to the line again and makes both free throws. He is now 5-for-5 from the line and has 15 points. The Rockets lead 81-61. |
| 4:15 |  |
Yao misses a fadeaway jumper in the lane. He is now 5-for-9 from the field with 15 points. The Rockets lead 81-64. |
| 3:35 |  |
Yao misses a long jumper from just inside the three-point line. He is now 5-for-10 from the field with 15 points. The Rockets lead 81-61. |
| :38.8 | Free Throws |
Yao is fouled in the lane jockeying for position, so he goes to the line and makes both free throws. He is now 7-for-7 from the line and has 17 points. The Rockets lead 89-72. |
| :31 | Yao checks out of the game for Scott Padgett. The Rockets' lead is still 89-72. | |
| 4th Quarter - At the end of three quarters, the Rockets lead 89-72. Yao scored 13 points in the quarter (7-of-7 from the line). The Sonics shot 4-of-14 from the field and were outscored by Houston 33-19. | ||
| 6:41 | Yao checks into the game for Scott Padgett. The Rockets lead 95-86. | |
| 5:55 |  |
Boki Nachbar gets Yao the ball on the left edge of the lane while Yao is moving toward the basket. After catching the pass, Yao continues to make his way to the rim and slams it home for the dunk! Yao has had lots of dunks tonight. He is now 6-for-10 from the field with 19 points. The Rockets lead 97-86. |
| 5:11 |  |
Yao shoots a long jumper that misses everything. It's strange to see him miss a shot so badly. He is now 6-for-12 from the field with 19 points. |
| 4:35 | Free Throws |
Potapenko hacks Yao on the neck as they are both jockeying for position in the lane. Yao goes to the line and makes the first free throw, but misses the second. He is now 8-for-9 from the line and has 20 points. The Rockets lead 98-89. |
| 2:48 |  |
Yao misses a turnaround jumper at the left elbow. Yao is now 6-for-13 from the field with 20 points. The Rockets lead 100-94. |
| 1:00 | Yao checks out of the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. The Rockets lead 102-98. | |
| :49 | Yao checks back into the game for Weatherspoon. The Rockets lead 102-100. | |
| :30 | Assist |
With the Rockets up only 102-100, Yao gets the ball on the right side of the lane and is double-teamed by two Sonic players. With no options to shoot, he throws a pass across the court to Boki Nachbar, who is standing all by himself behind the three-point line. Nachbar gets the perfectly thrown pass, launches a trey AND NAILS IT! Great vision by Yao to see his good friend Boki, and he delivered! That puts the Rockets up 105-100, and that just about does it! Although the Sonics came rallying back, the Rockets are able to hold off the Sonics.
Yao finishes with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting, and 8-of-9 from the line. He also had 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. |