|
 Instead, it was the Rockets bench that knocked the Chicago Bulls
into the ropes, sparking the breakaway rally in the fourth quarter
in the Houston Rockets' 101-90 victory on Wednesday night at Toyota
Center.
Houston (34-15) opened the final period with a 13-0 blitz before
Butler sank two free throws with 7:52 left. The Rockets' surge,
largely a product of transition offense, bumped their lead to 88-70
-- a deficit too large for Chicago to overcome, even with a late
push into single digits.
"That's the way we play when that group is in," said Rockets forward
Trevor Ariza, the lone starter playing alongside guard Jason Terry,
swingman Corey Brewer, and forwards Josh Smith and Terrence Jones.
"If you get it off the (defensive) board, you just go with it and
find the open man because we all can make plays, we all can dribble
the ball up the court, and our basketball IQ is pretty good."
Chicago (30-20) sliced that deficit in half with 1:48 remaining on a
driving layup by Butler, who finished with a game-high-tying 27
points. Three Bulls posted double figures in rebounds as part of an
overall performance that yielded a plus-13 rebounding advantage --
forwards Pau Gasol (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Taj Gibson (12
points, 10 rebounds) and center Joakim Noah (a season-high 19
rebounds).
Guard Derrick Rose added 23 points for the Bulls, who have lost four
of five games.
"Our margin for error is real small, so it's hard to overcome that,"
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of the Rockets' 13-0 run.
Although they surrendered 18 offensive boards and 21 second-chance
points, the Rockets' interior feistiness produced a surprisingly
decisive advantage on points in the paint (50-28). Forwards Donatas
Motiejunas (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Josh Smith (nine points, 13
rebounds) challenged the towering Bulls frontline and provided ample
support for Harden, who matched Butler for game-scoring honors with
27 points.
"They're so tall, they're so athletic and long that we just kept
battling," Harden said. "Keep battling and get them off the glass.
It was a collective effort on the boards and it was a great team win
for us."
Momentum swung with the performances of Harden and Butler.
[to top of second column] |
Harden erupted for 13 consecutive points in the second quarter,
mostly with Butler laboring in vain to provide quality defense. He
began his tear with a transition layup before attacking Butler off
the dribble.
His first such basket came on a step-back 3-pointer that left Butler
stumbling and built the Rockets lead to 44-37. Harden followed with
two driving layups and another splendid step-back jumper. He closed
his run with free throws at the 2:08 mark that upped the lead to
52-43.
Without missing any of his five shots from the floor, Harden poured
in 15 points in the second quarter. Houston extended its lead to 16
points in the third quarter before Butler responded, burying a
series of jumpers en route to an 11-point period. He sank a 3 with
1:47 left to cut the deficit to 73-65 and Chicago trailed 75-70
entering the fourth after the Rockets missed all six of their
3-point attempts in the third quarter.
"We play hard in spurts, but we just can't do it for 48 minutes
right now," Noah said. "We just have to figure that out."
NOTES: Rockets C Dwight Howard underwent a bone marrow aspirate
injection on his right knee Wednesday morning and will be
re-evaluated in four weeks following rehab. The procedure was
designed to offset swelling that has cost Howard 12 games this
season. Howard missed his 17th game overall on Wednesday night. ...
Bulls F Mike Dunleavy missed his 17th consecutive game with a right
ankle sprain. Chicago is 12-3 with its primary starting lineup of
Dunleavy, Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol. ...
Rockets G James Harden was named Western Conference Player of the
Month for a second consecutive time after averaging 25.8 points, 4.7
rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.2 steals over 17 games in January.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
