Bench Mob To The Rescue

Rockets exorcise Philly demons with 96-91 victory

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - The beginning brought back visions of the Wachovia Center nightmares the Rockets had experienced over the course of the last two years. But instead of allowing a bad case of déjà vu to fester, Houston’s bench saved the day and made sure the Rockets escaped their own personal house of horrors with their biggest comeback victory of the season.

Once trailing by as many as 17 points, Houston stormed from behind for a 96-91 win over the 76ers thanks largely to a superior effort from the Rockets’ reserves, who managed to outscore Philadelphia’s subs by an eye-popping 46-6 margin. Carl Landry led the way with 20 points and 7 rebounds, as the Rockets sent the struggling Sixers to their 12th straight defeat.

“We got off to a bad start,” said Landry. “I was just telling the guys on the bench, ‘We need to come in there and play with energy.’ These guys have lost 11 in a row and I felt like, if we attacked them and we got the lead, they would be easy to break and we’d have a great chance of getting the win.”

Landry proved to be prophetic thanks in large part to his own contributions, along with those submitted by fellow bench mob members Chase Budinger (15 points on 6-of-8 shooting) and Kyle Lowry (11 points). Their combined efforts helped Houston stay afloat while the team’s starters were struggling to find their rhythm.

The Rockets fell behind 27-10 early on, looking completely out of sorts and out of sync in the process. But the game began to turn the moment Houston’s bench brigade joined in the action. With Lowry pushing the pace, Budinger raining in shots from all over and Landry doing much of the dirty work down low, the Rockets whittled Philly’s lead to a mere three points by halftime, at which point Houston’s reserves had outscored its starters 33-15.

“We had to talk to our starters,” said Rockets’ Head Coach Rick Adelman. “They needed to get off their butts and play. They were so bad the first quarter and they’ve got to come out and set the tone for us. The first half we were sleepwalking, reacting to everything they did instead of dictating the tempo ourselves. But the bench got us back into it and we had to come out and have a strong third quarter.”

Clearly, that message was received lour and clear. After combining to score just 5 points in the first half, Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza rediscovered their shooting touch while the team as a whole locked in defensively, the result of which was an 18-3 run to begin the third quarter. Brooks, in particular, was not to be denied, scoring 14 points in the frame on a variety of shots including a 28-foot bomb drilled while racing to his right in an effort to free himself for the long distance attempt just before the shot clock expired. By the end of the quarter, Houston led 76-64 and looked well on its way to exorcising two years of Philly demons.

“Aaron has the ability to make shots,” Adelman said. “I think people don’t understand that he’s an extremely good offensive player. When he gets it going, he has unlimited range as you saw tonight.”

As it turned out, however, the Rockets required one more Brooks miracle before escaping with a win. Its lead trimmed to 94-91 heading into the game’s final minute, Houston was enduring a stretch which had seen the club go nearly seven minutes without a field goal. So needing a basket to seal the game, Brooks drove inside and attempted to slip a pass to Luis Scola, only to have the ball deflected toward the near sideline by Philly’s Samuel Dalembert. Alertly, Brooks raced toward the loose ball and, all in one motion, hoisted it toward the rim while falling backwards from 18-feet as the shot clock expired. So pure was the prayer, it barely even disturbed the net’s nylon on the way through.

With just 8.8 seconds remaining, then, the Rockets were finally allowed to breathe easy, armed with the knowledge that victory was secured and the club’s record (13-9) would be moving to a season-best four games over .500. Another night, another full team effort from the squad which has come to pride itself on being the living embodiment of the word.

“We’ve been doing that all year,” said Adelman. “We have somebody step up all the time and that’s why we’ve been able to win a lot of games – our guys respond. I don’t think anybody thinks of himself as a star, we’re all just playing together and that’s why the bench is crucial for us and it certainly was tonight.”

QUOTES

RICK ADELMAN

It’s a terrific win for us. Starting in the first quarter we came out very flat and they jumped on us, but our bench did a great job in the second quarter with Chase Budinger, Kyle Lowry, and Carl Landry just came in and turned the game back around and got us in the game at halftime, and we had a great third quarter.

We had to talk to our starters; they needed to get off their butts and play. They were so bad the first quarter and they’ve got to come out and set the tone for us. But the bench got us back into it and we had to come out and have a strong third quarter. All of them came out and we were just a different team. The first half we were sleepwalking; reacting to everything they did instead of dictating the tempo ourselves. That turned the game around for us.

(on his team’s resiliency): We’ve been doing that all year. We have somebody step up all the time and that’s why we’ve been able to win a lot of games – our guys respond. I don’t think anybody thinks of himself as a star, we’re all just playing together and that’s why the bench is crucial for us and it certainly was tonight.

(on the defense): I thought in the third quarter what changed the whole game is we didn’t give them easy opportunities. We were better offensively but we kept them to one shot, they didn’t get the ball back and we were able to get in the open floor ourselves a little bit and that changed the way the whole game went, instead of the first half when I thought we were reacting to everything they did. They’re quicker, they’re athletic and we’re going to get hurt there. We just have to play with our minds as well as our bodies and I thought we did a much better job of doing that in the second half.

(on Chase bouncing back from a poor game): That’s a real telling sign. I just think it just shows he’s going to be a solid player because he really struggled against Cleveland but he came right in tonight and twice, in the second quarter he did it and then made two or three big shots in the fourth quarter when we needed baskets. That’s what he’s been: he’s been a guy who responds and it’s kind of typical of our team.

(Aaron): Aaron has the ability to make shots. He’s a very good offensive player. He made a tough pass, they batted it away and he had the presence of mind to go get it and make it. I’ve seen him make shots like that all year long. I think people don’t understand that he’s an extremely good offensive player. When he gets it going, he has unlimited range as you saw tonight.

CARL LANDRY

We knew they were going to come in here and battle. They’re at home and ever since I’ve played for the Rockets we haven’t beaten the 76ers. We knew it was going to be a tough game and I’m glad we finally came out with a win.

We got off to a bad start and I was just telling the guys on the bench, ‘We need to come in there and play with energy.’ These guys have lost 11 in a row and I felt like, if we attacked them and we got the lead, they would be easy to break and we’d have a great chance of getting the win. That’s what we did, we came out and played with energy.

AARON BROOKS

(What was the key for you in that second half offensively?): I got a little rhythm going and I was able to hit some shots.

(What picked up in the second half?): We picked up our intensity. It was a blessing that we were only down by three going into the second half because we were playing really bad, and we were missing a lot of shots. Trevor Ariza and I were playing pretty bad, and we both picked it up a little bit in the second half. We all hit a lot of shots in the second half, and that was the difference.

(Did any of the past troubles against Philly come to mind when you were down 17, and with the way things were going in that first half?): No, they’re a different team and we’re a different team. We remember that we did lose the last four against them, and they swept us last year. The good thing is they can’t sweep us this year and we know they’re going to be ready when they come back to Houston.

KYLE LOWRY

Our second unit is pretty good, I think. I think we’re one of the best second units in the NBA, so when we go out there we just play hard and play with effort.

76ers Head Coach Eddie Jordan

Opening Statement
“We know that we are not going to play a perfect game, but we did play hard, we did play smart for the most part. We are all going to make mistakes, but we lessened those mistakes tonight from what we had in the previous games. The locker room is solid. They are professionals; they come to work everyday and they are still staying together.

When you stayed with Willie (Green) down the stretch and kept Thaddeus (Young) on the bench; was that for a defensive match-up?

“Yes, I thought Willie (Green) was playing well. I thought the offense was moving pretty well. I like the fact that Samuel (Dalembert) protected the rim. He did a good job for us down the stretch. Elton (Brand) had a pretty good game going. I thought Willie (Green) did well.”

With Allen (Iverson) getting 12 points in the forth quarter, did you see him trying to be the guy that can do this?

“Yes and he is not there yet. He is not in great shape yet and he is trying to find the rhythm of his teammates and he is. He is going to get better at it and that is what we would like to see him do.”

Were you okay with the shot you got in the last two minutes and the players who took them?

“Everybody on the floor with Samuel (Dalembert) at the rim can make a shot anywhere on the floor. Willie (Green) is a jump shooter. Elton (Brand) is a low go off the elbow. I was okay with those shots. Do I want a better shot? I always want a better, cleaner rhythm shot. You have to give them credit with some good defense. They are a good defensive team.

Willie Green

How tough was this loss?

Definitely tough. I thought we did a good job at the start getting to an early lead, but NBA teams make runs, and they made a good run, cut it to three by half-time, and in the third quarter they came out aggressive. Once again, the ball didn’t bounce our way at the end of the game. On a positive note, we have to continue to fight to get a win.

What do you guys think you have to do to get out of this losing streak?

I think we’re playing good basketball, we’re just falling a little short. Right now this is the time to stay positive because it’s easy to tuck your tail between your legs and go hide, but you have to continue to fight and stay together and hopefully things will change for us.

Allen Iverson

Did you think this could be the night for a win before they came back?

That’s what we thought. When you get a 17 point lead, that’s when you stop playing hard. As a young team, guys have to realize when you’ve got a team down like that and not really ready to play, then blow them out of the gym.

Has there been a recurring theme in these losses?

When you’re on a losing streak and things don’t go right, you pretty much have to do everything perfect at the end of the game. We just haven’t been able to close out.

ANDRE IGUODOLA

How much did the last minutes of the fourth quarter affect the loss?

It looked like it came down to that, but in the game as a whole we had a chance take the lead and end the game early, but we couldn’t sustain and they came back. We had our slow spurts, so that’s on us.

What do you think you can do different as a team to change this streak?

I don’t think we’re mad enough. We got to go out there and be angry. I’m trying to be positive. There comes a point when we’ve got to get down to the nitty-gritty and get a win. We’ve got to continue to go out there and play as a team. We’ve got to fix the small problems, work together, and police each other.

Got a question for Rockets.com? Send it to Jason Friedman. And for up to the second news and injury updates follow the Rockets and Jason on Twitter.