Yao, Brooks, and Rockets fall short against Spurs

March 15, 3:23 AMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

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Tim Duncan couldn't hold Yao back tonight (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

San Antonio and Houston fight hard every time they meet, and the results are always close.

Tonight's matchup was no exception, but the Spurs got the better of the Rockets tonight, winning 88-85 in a back-and-forth game that showed the best of both teams' inside-outside game.

Yao Ming and Tim Duncan have also had some classic battles, but it's the younger Yao who is starting to be the dominant one.

Tonight, he played excellent defense against the lithe Spurs power forward, and Yao's jump hook seemed almost unbeatable.

As always, Houston struggled when they tried to create scoring chances outside the arc with screens and picks, but succeeded when they ran things through Yao or Scola in the low post.

The two teams ended tied after the first quarter, with Tony Parker pouring in 10 of the Spurs' 22, assisting on two more. He scored or made an assist on all but four of his team's points.

Duncan had some early success, but Yao quickly found ways to shut him down. Both of Yao's blocks on the game were against Duncan, and Yao harassed and intimidated him from scoring several more. And Duncan didn't seem to have an answer for Yao's baby hook and Shanghai Shake.

Yao would finish with a double-double with 18 points on 9-17 shooting, plus 11 rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and only one personal foul. Duncan had a similar line, with 15 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. But one-on-one, Yao had the advantage.

Still, he doesn't have the stamina to play all game, so he's got regular rest periods in each game. San Antonio pulled away during those stretches, even as Kyle Lowry continues to impress in the backup point guard role; he finished with 7 points, 3 boards and 3 assists—several of them very pretty—in 19 minutes.

Both teams used a lot of their benches to rest their starters in such an energetic game, which went into halftime with San Antonio leading by seven, a lead they built with Yao off the floor.

The third quarter is usually where Houston makes magic, but tonight it didn't start out that way. San Antonio widened its lead to eleven before Houston finally showed some energy and fought back. Yao, Aaron Brooks, and Ron Artest combined to score all but four of the team's 26 in the third quarter.

Houston would have entered the fourth quarter with the lead, had it not been for Michael Finley's buzzer-beater just past the halfcourt line, giving San Antonio a one-point margin.

Yao entered the game when it was tied with a little under seven minutes to play. He immediately went to work on Duncan, either shooting over him or creating opportunities for his teammates.

But it wasn't enough against San Antonio, who hopped on the back of Tony Parker and rode him down the stretch. Once again, he scored the last ten points of the quarter, which were also the last points of the game. He would finish with 28 points, to go along with his 8 assists (Brooks finished with 18 points and no assists).

The Rockets tried to strike back, but Brooks, who had been reliable and energetic the whole game, got a little too excited and drove so deep into the Spurs defense that his layup attempt clanged into the underside of the backboard.

Brooks has been growing by leaps and bounds and is just beginning to understand how he can affect an NBA game, but he needs to learn more pacing and body control. Sometimes his energy can help his team, but it can also hurt them, as it did tonight.

The play before, he'd also gone to the hoop out of control, but Yao was there to put back the miss with a big slam—Yao won't always be there, and that's hardly the kind of play you'd draw up before the game.

In the end, all a team can ask for is a chance to win, and Houston had that at several points. San Antonio's not at full strength, with Manu Ginobili—probably its best scorer—out of action; had they had all their players on the court, the result might have been more lopsided.

The loss was a tough one to take, in part because it was so close, but Houston should learn from this and build for the rough stretch they're heading into. If they advance in the playoffs, they'll have to face San Antonio sooner or later and will need to find out how they can beat them.

Houston's next game is Monday against New Orleans, a team that's not quite as good as the Spurs, but they're still formidable, and the Rockets will be on the road, where they're just 16-17 this season. They're going to have to start putting the pieces together in a tough division if they want to advance in the playoffs.

Keep reading the Asian-American Sports Examiner to see if they do!