Rockets Outlast Scrappy Kings 113-106

Scola and Lowry lead Houston to much-needed win

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - The NBA season is filled with potential stumbling blocks; games in which your shot’s not falling, your legs succumb to the grind and you’re squaring off against a scrappy opponent with nothing to lose.

The Rockets came face-to-face with each of those issues in some form or fashion Saturday night, which helps explain why the club was more than happy to earn a win bereft of many style points.

Playing its fourth game in five nights and eighth in the past twelve days, Houston outscored a shorthanded Sacramento squad 14-5 during the game’s final 4:07 to escape with a 113-106 victory. The Rockets were keyed by their dynamic duo of power forwards as Luis Scola and Carl Landry combined to compile 42 points and 19 rebounds, helping to ensure their club came away with a much-needed win.

“It was a really hard and long week,” admitted Scola. “We had some good and bad moments, too. We fought, we played hard. We can't always win pretty but tonight was a huge win for us.”

To be sure, nothing came easily, despite the fact Sacramento was forced to play without rookie sensation Tyreke Evans, who was a last minute scratch with a sprained finger and sore ankle. The Kings shot the ball extremely well and punished Houston down low throughout much of the second half; though in that regard the Rockets were even better. Houston scored a season-high 66 points in the paint – 10 more than Sacramento – exploiting the Kings’ rather weak interior defense and making up for the Rockets' errant shooting stroke from long-range (3-18 from three).

Doing much of the damage inside were Scola and Landry, as the two players took on the roles of starter and closer, respectively. Scola was dominant right out of the gate, racking up 14 points and 4 rebounds in the first quarter alone. Then in the final frame it was Landry’s turn, as the third-year forward from Purdue closed the door on the Kings with 13 points and 4 boards of his own; numbers he attributed to his unique chemistry with fellow bench brigade member Kyle Lowry.

“Playing with Kyle for two years now, man he's an amazing point guard,” said Landry. “He can start on almost any team in this league. I love playing with him as a teammate. He makes things so much easier for me and it seems like every night he's getting close to a double-double. Tonight he had 8 (points) and 8 (assists) and that's what we need off the bench.”

Added Rockets’ Head Coach Rick Adelman: “(Lowry’s) really attacked the basket and found people – and that’s the key. He’s gone to the basket and drawn their big guys and found Luis, he’s found Carl and that’s really crucial. I’ve said all along is that’s one area Aaron (Brooks) has got to figure out: the way to get better is when he gets to the basket, make sure he finds people. Kyle’s been able to do that. He’s had some huge games for us down the stretch.”

Saturday’s victory improved Houston’s record to 4-0 when playing the second game of a back-to-back; a mark which seems stranger than hearing a French-Canadian accent in Baytown - until you take a closer look at the teams involved in both legs, that is. The clubs which the Rockets have faced on the front end currently sport a sparkling combined record of 41-14. The following night, meanwhile has offered far easier fare: those teams have only collectively tallied a 14-36 mark.

Of much more importance, then, is the fact that the Rockets’ overall record now stands at 8-6; impressive given all the questions swirling around the team at the beginning of the year and the fact that the Rockets have faced the league’s toughest schedule through the season’s first 14 games.

“I think we have to be happy with the record that we have overall,” said Scola. “Sometimes basketball is a tricky game. Sometimes one little mistake or one little thing can be the difference between winning and losing. So you have to be happy with the way we’re playing overall I think, and you have to be happy with the way the team is responding to all the challenges we’ve faced this season.”

QUOTES

RICK ADELMAN

I was really pleased with the fourth quarter. Before that I just thought we were really struggling, not really making any stops. I don’t know whether it was the four games in five nights, I have no idea. Give Sacramento credit, they came out and had a really strong third quarter and took it to us. Our guys responded in the fourth and got a good win.

(on the offense): We did a better job of getting the ball to Carl on some quick-hitting things. I thought the whole game we were doing way too much (one-on-one). Then as the game went on we stopped defending and let them pretty much do what they want. They really hurt us inside obviously all night long. We fought back, though. We had 12 offensive rebounds, too. If we’re going to give up there, we’ve got to get some back ourselves and we did. Carl was terrific in the fourth quarter.

(On Kyle Lowry): He’s really attacked the basket and found people – and that’s the key. He’s gone to the basket and drawn their big guys and found Luis, he’s found Carl and that’s really crucial. I’ve said all along is that’s one area Aaron’s got to figure out the way to get better is when he gets to the basket, make sure he finds people. Kyle’s been able to do that. He’s had some huge games for us down the stretch.

(on where the team is now): I’m happy with the way the team has responded. Even tonight, both these plays really competed and we were able to do what we were supposed to do in the fourth quarter and come out with the win. These are the type of games we have to get at our place to stay and keep our heads above water and I’ve been very pleased with the way the team has performed and the way they’ve reacted.

LUIS SCOLA

(On whether this is a hard week) “It was a really hard and long week. We had some good and bad moments too. We fought, we played hard. We can't always win pretty but tonight was a huge win for us. We needed a win. I thought we played a pretty good game. I believe that if we play hard we're going to win a lot of close games. I just want to give them ( Sacramento) a lot of credit. I didn't think it was going to be as easy as a 15 point victory so I'm thankful and happy for the victory.”

(On whether this game resembled the previous game against Sacramento) “It looked a lot like that. We made a lot of mistakes the first half. Like I said, they are a pretty respectable team. They play team basketball and they pass the ball well. It was a good test for us and we passed it. We needed a win and it was very important for us to win. They are a team that is right behind us. They would have got ahead of us if we would have lost. It was a crucial game for us but we won.”

(responding after losses): That’s pretty much what it’s all about. It’s a long league, it’s a lot of games and you will have to play all types of situations. If you win a great game, you have to forget about it like ten minutes after the game is over. Sometimes you’re going to lose and you need to come back.

(on where this team is right now): I think we have to be happy with the record that we have overall. Sometimes basketball is a tricky game. Sometimes one little mistake or one little thing can be the difference between winning and losing. So you have to be happy with the way we’re playing overall I think, and you have to be happy with the way the team is responding to all the challenges we’ve faced this season. It’s a long way ahead and we have a lot of things to work on, so we can’t be too happy, but we definitely need to be happy about a lot of things.

I think we’re getting better. I think sometimes we’re playing exactly how we want to play and at times we’re struggling a little bit. That’s completely normal. You really can’t pretend to play great from the first game. And as we’re always talking about, it’s a lot of challenges that we’re facing coming into the season, so little by little.

SHANE BATTIER

(On losing the first game in back to back situations) “That's an interesting stat. You can look at it two ways. In the first night of back to backs we were fazed by the task ahead of us, two games in 48 hours but on the other side we showed great resiliency coming off from a tough loss the night before. So I would like to stop that streak and win the game the first night of the back to back.”

(on where the team is): We’ve said it since day one: we want to keep our heads above water. We want to stay in the race because we know it’s a tough schedule. We’re not making excuses for our record but this is the No. 1 schedule in the NBA up to this point. Once the schedule breaks, we have to be in position to take advantage of it and go on a run like we have in years past.

(on taking advantage of the Kings’ interior defense): When we got the lead on them I thought we did a real good job of attacking the rim. When we let them back in we sort of got away from that. It’s got to be a lesson for our team. We’re a lot better when we’re attacking and getting into the paint and making plays, and a lot less effective when we go iso one-on-one.

(on the defensive breakdowns): I didn’t think we played team defense like we’re capable of doing. Especially in the post, we tried to leave Chuck and Luis and Carl on an island and, while ultimately it’s on them to stop their guy, we have to give them more support and at least give the post players something to think about with digs and sort of clog it up in there. They had freedom of movement down low and that can’t happen.

CARL LANDRY

(On the importance of the win after last night's loss) “With me personally, after that game ( Atlanta game), I was happy to play whoever the next opponent was after that. It was so tough after that game, I didn't want to lose to them ( Sacramento), especially at home and thank God we came out with the win. It's a great feeling.”

(On playing with Kyle Lowry) “Playing with Kyle for two years now, man he's an amazing point guard. He can start on almost any team in this league. This is his free agent year and he is playing really well. I know he's going to get a big contract next year hopefully and hopefully it will be here. I love playing with him as a teammate. He makes things so much easier for me and it seems like every night he's getting close to a double-double. Tonight he had 8 (points) and 8 (assists) and that's what we need off the bench. Hopefully, he can continue to do so the rest of the year.”

KYLE LOWRY

(On the run they made down the stretch) “We couldn't get it going until the last couple of minutes. Me and (Luis) Scola both hit some open jump shots then Carl (Landry) finished with a layup from up under. We finished the game strong. It took us a while to get going. It took us basically the whole game but we got it going at the end and that's all that matters.”

(on the importance of the win because of the previous loss to Sacramento) “Because it was a game that we needed. Last time that we played we played sluggish and let them control the game. Tonight they fought and they controlled the game most of the game but for some reason, a good reason, we found it deep down inside of us to pull it up.”

TREVOR ARIZA

(On the King's not having one go-to guy) “I think that's when teams are more dangerous because they play like they don't have anything to lose. With that being said, we got it done tonight. They didn't have anything to lose.”

(On the importance of the win) “That's the good thing about the NBA. You get a tough loss the night before and you get an opportunity to come back the next night and change the outcome. Once we lost that one we kind of forgot about it, got on the plane and got here and we got some good rest. We came back and got a win today.”

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

(on his team’s play) “I like the spirit and the effort on this team. Everyone should be pleased with the way we’re playing. I like the way we compete every night. I’m sorry we couldn’t cash in on the effort. This team has heart but we haven’t learned how to win.”

(on the Rockets) “You have to give Houston credit. They made the plays the last five minutes. They gave great effort and I admire the way they play their game.”

JASON THOMPSON

(on the Kings play) “This team needs to learn the will on how to win close games. We started to learn this at home and now we need to learn how to win close games on the road. Our guys are playing confident and they are always working hard.”

(on Scola’s play) “Scola can move around under the basket and step out and make the outside shot. He is a talented veteran player in the league. He knows how to guard established post players and that happens with his extensive experience.”

SPENCER HAWES

(on the game) “You don’t give out consolation prizes but all we want are notches in the win column. They executed better than we did at the end.”

(on the team’s play) “A lot of guys stepped up tonight but we fell short at the end. We battled back but unfortunately fighting from behind is hard to do.”

OMRI CASSPI

(on the game) “This was a very tough game against a very good team. Our shots were there but they came up short. I’m happy with the way we played. We will get better as a team. It’s step by step and it’s a long way to go.”

NOTES

The Rockets matched their highest scoring output of the season in a 113-106 victory over Sacramento tonight, extending an active six-game home winning streak over the Kings. Houston, which also scored 113 points at Utah (11/2/09), recorded its first win (1-4) this season when trailing after three quarters of play.

Houston turned the ball over a season-low eight times tonight. The previous low for the Rockets was nine in the last home outing vs. Phoenix (11/17/09).

The Rockets posted a season-high 66 points in the paint tonight, which included 44 in the paint in the first half alone. Houston had just 48 in the paint in the last meeting at Sacramento (11/13/09). Houston’s previous season high in the paint with 62 points vs. Memphis (11/11/09).

Houston marked its fifth time this season to reach the 20-point mark in fast-break points with 21 on the run tonight. To put that in perspective, the Rockets had scored 20 or more fast-break points only twice since 2005-06, with both coming during the 2007-08 season.

The Rockets closed with a 33-point fourth quarter tonight, which marked Houston’s best final 12 minutes at home this season.

With tonight’s win, the Rockets moved to 4-0 in the second game of a back-to-back set this season.

Luis Scola tied his season-high 22 points (9-17 FG) and pulled down 12 rebounds tonight. Scola originally set his season high with 22 points (10-15 FG) vs. Memphis (11/11/09).

Carl Landry recorded his fifth 20-point outing of the season with and even 20 points (6-8 FG, 8-8 FT) and adding seven rebounds tonight.

Trevor Ariza finished with 19 points (7-19 FG) and three steals tonight. Ariza now has at least one theft in 13 of his 14 games played this season, which includes 10 multi-steal performances.

Shane Battier had 14 points (6-11 FG) tonight, including a 1-of-4 night from beyond the arc. Dating back to last season, Battier has made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 26 regular season games (3/20/09-11/21/09). Only Luther Head (37 from 11/4/06-1/13/07) and Kenny Smith (27 from 2/27/95-4/19/95) have had longer such streaks, but each of their runs came within a single season.

Spencer Hawes led six Kings in double-figure scoring with 24 points (10-16 FG) and nine rebounds tonight, as all five Kings starters hit double-digit point totals.

Beno Udrih, who chipped in with 22 points (4-6 3FG) against the Rockets at Sacramento (11/13/09), added 18 points (8-18 FG, 2-4 3FG) and eight assists tonight.

Omri Casspi registered a career-high 17 points (6-15 FG) and eight rebounds tonight.

Donté Greene did not miss a shot in scoring 13 points in a start at guard tonight, going 5-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 1-for-1 from the free throw line. He helped the Kings finish 43-of-85 (.506) from the field.

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