Rockets tout Nuggets 115-87 for 5 straight

Updated: 2005-04-17 11:28

HOUSTON - Tracy McGrady shook off a poor start to score 32 points, Mike James gave Houston a huge lift off the bench and the Rockets won their fifth straight game Saturday night, 115-87 over the streaking Denver Nuggets.

Houston Rockets' Tracy McGrady (1) shoots over Denver Nuggets' Kenyon Martin (6) during the second quarter Saturday, April 16, 2005, in Houston. [AP]

James scored 23 points, Yao Ming had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks and his backup, Dikembe Mutombo, added 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks to help the Rockets end the Nuggets' 10-game winning streak in a Western Conference showdown critical to playoff positioning.

With two games left before the playoffs, the Rockets (49-31) wrestled away control of sixth place in the West and now hold a tiebreaker over the Nuggets (48-32) in case both teams finish with the same record.

Houston also moved a half-game behind Sacramento for the No. 5 seed. The Kings played at league-leading Phoenix on Saturday night.

The Rockets will close the season with home games against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night and Seattle on Wednesday night. The Nuggets play at league-leading Phoenix on Monday night and end with a home game against Portland on Tuesday night.

Kenyon Martin led the Nuggets with 22 points and nine rebounds, the first time in nine games that Carmelo Anthony didn't lead Denver in scoring. Anthony had 16 points on 4-of-17 shooting.

The Nuggets definitely could have used starting center Marcus Camby, who sat out because of a strained right hamstring.

Without its top defender and rebounder, Denver was especially vulnerable to the Rockets' suddenly diverse offensive attack.

McGrady started attacking the teeth of the Nuggets' defense after making only one of his first eight shots, and eventually had his way with a variety of defenders ranging from point guard Andre Miller to Anthony and even the 6-foot-9, 234-pound Martin.

McGrady, who scored 45 points in a Jan. 9 win over Denver, also opened up things for his teammates, who combined to tie a season high with 15 3-pointers on 63 percent shooting. McGrady even turned up the intensity on other end of the floor, frustrating Anthony with unusually aggressive defense — at least for him.

Coming off a 111-102 win over Memphis on Friday night, the Nuggets looked nothing like a team in the second night of grueling back-to-back games — at least in the game's early minutes. Denver raced out to an 18-4 lead and led by 10 at the end of the first quarter.

But led by their reserves, the Rockets made a furious rally before the end of the half.

Mutombo made two free throws to give Houston its first lead of the night, 43-41, with 4:34 left in the second. McGrady closed the half with consecutive 3s, the last on a nifty behind-the-back assist from Jon Barry, to put the Rockets up 56-49 at the break.

The Rockets eventually wore down the plodding Nuggets at the end, scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter to take an 86-70 lead.

McGrady punctuated the win by crossing over Denver forward Eduardo Najera, causing him to stumble before hitting a 3-pointer that gave Houston a 19-point lead with a little more than 9 minutes left.

The Nuggets never got any closer after that.

Close

A night of shame Bayer Munich VS Chelsea Real Madrid beat Barcelona 4-2

Today's Top News     Top Sports News
Iraq's Sunni militants take 100 Shiites hostage         China assures Japan, secures missions         EU fails to reach deal on lifting arms ban         Hu advocates to build harmonious society         G-7: Higher oil prices are a headwind         China becomes world's 3rd largest exporter	Davenport retires, Henin-Hardenne advances       Glazer makes another Manchester United bid       Nets drop Raptors, stay in playoff hunt       Federer advances at Monte Carlo Masters       Golovin ousts Venus at Family Circle Cup       Cavaliers' owner addresses LeBron rumors