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McGrady's 38 help Rockets end skid
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-04 11:42
WASHINGTON - Tracy McGrady matched his season high with 38 points, and the
Houston Rockets broke a five-game losing streak with a rare offensive outburst,
routing the Washington Wizards 123-111 Tuesday night.
Tracy McGrady (C)
of the Houston Rockets gets fouled by Gilbert Arenas (R) of the Washington
Wizards while trying to drive the lane to the basket between Arenas and
Wizards Calvin Booth during the second half of their NBA game in
Washington January 3, 2006. [Reuters] | The
Rockets, averaging a league-low 87.6 points entering the game, set a season high
for field goal percentage (55.1) and became the second team in as many games to
set a new season high in points against the slumping Wizards.
The Rockets hardly looked like the team that had lost by an average of 10
points during its five-game skid, all without injured center Yao Ming. They
moved the ball well and shot even better, taking command from the opening
minutes and building a second-quarter double-digit lead that wasn't threatened
until a late Wizards rally.
McGrady made 11 of 24 field goals and 14 of 16 free throws. Juwan Howard
added a season-high 24 points and Rafer Alston had season highs with 17 points
and 10 assists for the Rockets, who hadn't scored more than 90 points in their
previous seven games.
Gilbert Arenas did his best to keep up with McGrady, scoring 44 for the
Wizards, but Washington looked like a team in slow motion on offense for 3 1/2
quarters, with passes that were a split-second late and off-balance jumpers that
didn't have much of a chance.
Caron Butler scored 20 and Antawn Jamison 17 for the Wizards, who were
soundly booed by the home fans once the deficit hit 20 in the third quarter.
They trailed by 26 before mounting a fourth-quarter comeback that cut the lead
to eight after a five-point sequence that included a flagrant foul and a
3-pointer from Arenas.
But Howard steadied the Rockets with nine fourth-quarter points, helping
Houston remain ahead while McGrady was on the bench with five fouls.
The Wizards have lost three straight, all at home, and they had targeted the
Rockets game as the first of a five-game stretch against teams under .500 — a
chance to turn the season around after a mediocre start.
Jazz beat Kobe-less Lakers 90-80
SALT LAKE CITY - Andrei Kirilenko had 14 points, nine assists and seven
blocks, and the Utah Jazz won their fifth straight and returned to .500 for the
first time since November with a 90-80 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on
Tuesday night.
Kirilenko also had six steals and eight rebounds as the Jazz swept the
home-and-home series with the Lakers, who were without Kobe Bryant as he served
a two-game suspension for throwing an elbow last week.
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