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McGrady injures elbow in setback to Lakers
L.A. Lakers 93, Houston 90
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Before he left the arena for a second time on Wednesday night, Tracy McGrady reassured his teammates that he wouldn't be out of the lineup long with an injured right elbow.
He at least delivered some good news on a rough night for the Rockets.
Despite rallying from an 18-point deficit without their leading scorer, the Rockets couldn't cap off their comeback attempt down the stretch as the Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 93-90 victory in front of a packed house at Toyota Center.
The Rockets (6-3) suffered their second straight setback after a dismal night on the offensive end and a poor defensive effort in the first half.
The good news, at least, is that it doesn't appear Houston will be without McGrady for long. The Rockets star, who entered Wednesday's game as the NBA's leading scorer, is listed as day-to-day with a strained right elbow. He injured his elbow in the second quarter when his right arm was bent back reaching for a loose ball in front of Luke Walton.
Despite returning to Toyota Center with his arm in a sling after a trip to Memorial-Hermann Hospital, McGrady was upbeat after an MRI exam didn't reveal any significant ligament damage.
"It's definitely good news because I actually thought it could have been a lot worst than what it was," McGrady said. "At the time, I couldn't feel my fingers for a while. When I got to the hospital, I started getting feeling in my hands. It was very painful. Right now, I couldn't play if I tried."
McGrady will likely get a couple of days off to rest his elbow. The early prognosis is that the Rockets' leading scorer will miss a week, but the Rockets star could be back sooner if he heals quickly.
"We'll see how it improves over the next 24 to 48 hours," said Dr. Thomas Clanton, the team's physician. "That'll give us a much better idea of how long he will be out. Right now, we would say it's day-to-day. As soon as it responds and he has good feeling back and has return of his strength in the hand and full movement in his elbow, he should be OK to go."
Despite mounting an impressive comeback, the Rockets couldn't overcome McGrady's absense and a rough shooting night.
Houston shot 35.3 percent from the field and their shooting troubles even carried over to the free-throw line where they only made 59 percent of their attempts. Over the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, the Rockets missed their final 12 shots and canned only 5-of-11 attempts from the free throw line.
Still, Houston had a chance to send the game into overtime. Yao purposely missed a free throw and kicked it out to a wide-open Rafer Alston. Alston, though, missed the potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.
"We just didn't do enough offensively to finish it," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "We missed a lot of layups and a lot of free throws, but I give our guys a lot of credit. At halftime we were down and
The Rockets didn't do themselves any favors with their defense in the first half.
With Shane Battier and Chuck Hayes riddled in foul trouble, the Lakers made six of their first nine shots from beyond the arc and shot 53.7 percent in the opening 24 minutes. Kobe Bryant, the league's leading scorer, scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in that half.
The Lakers built as much as an 18-point lead in the first half before taking a 61-49 lead into the break. Houston played better defense in the second half, holding the Lakers to 32 points and 32.3 percent shooting. They also got a lift from Yao Ming and Bonzi Wells. Wells, who played a season-high 40 minutes off the bench, had 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Yao had 26 points and 13 rebounds.
But Kobe and Co. did enough damage in the first half.
"We missed 16 free throws and we were outrebounded," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "It was amazing that we were even in this game. That's the silver lining. We don't want to put ourselves in that position. We want to come out better."
The Rockets may have to come out Friday night without their leading scorer. But at least the injury doesn't appear to be bad as initially expected.
"It felt like a torn ligament," McGrady said. "It's disappointing because my goal was to play in every game this season. But I'll sit back and wait to see how it feels."
Notable:
Yao Ming finally missed from the foul line after making 35 straight free throws. He made his first five free throws Wednesday before clanking one from the stripe. ... The Rockets had a record 11th consecutive sellout at Toyota Center. ... Kobe Bryant regained his status as the league's leading scorer from Tracy McGrady. Bryant had 30 points, while McGrady had only nine points after leaving the game in the second quarter.
