Lv06|ROCKETS-2| Officially Closed.

[Lamrock]

Shit, down 2-0! So close to tying it too. Kill them in Houston!

[Valor]

><!!! Good Luck on next game!!!!
Get Mcgrady Past this hurdle, you already got him past the first round curse!! as we say in chinese, +OIL!!!

[Chaser7]

Lol damn CPU logic. Question how do you get those timeout sequences shots to not be so blurry? Everytime I try to, since its not like normal replay where you get frame by frame results pretty much, they're always blurry.

[Clutch]

Thx guys, Nuggets are no joke. Need to make some adjustments and try something diff next game... Chaser, i'm using a laptop so screen grabs are super easy compared to console. i just tag the "PrtSc" (print screen) button which saves it in cache and immediately Alt+tab out of the game to a notebook program that I 'paste' the image to; if you had Photoshop open you could "open > new" and paste it direct but I don't use all the images, only the ones i like, so that's why i paste them into the notebook to filter through them later

Alt+Tab again instantly brings you right back into the game at the the spot you left; that's how i get clean grabs of injuries and Phil's timeout huddles

PLAYOFF INJURY UPDATE

[Clutch]

QUICK 'CAP - Western Conference Semi-Finals, Game 3 Toyota Center, HOU

- Rockets' head coach, Phil Jackson, changes starting five electing for a 'big' lineup; shifts Tracy McGrady to Shooting Guard, Marvin Williams to Small Forward and starts Sean May at Power Forward position;

- McGrady again falls into early foul trouble in the first half; Carmelo Anthony and Marv Williams carry the scoring load for their respective teams;

- Rockets fall behind by as many as 9, but rally with McGrady's return midway through 2nd Qtr to trail by one, 51-52 at halftime;

- Houston continues control in the 3rd quarter as Sean May's dominance on the glass allows McGrady to go on an offensive assault;

- Rockets ahead 77-72 going into the final quarter and push the lead further for the convincing 102-90 victory;

- Tracy McGrady is the high man for Houston with 32 points, 6 rebounds 3 assists but Sean May was key, controlling the glass throughout the night and leading the Rockets with 16 rebounds to go with 6 points;

- Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists but the Nuggets never seemed to get into their offense. Despite the loss, Denver still leads series 2-1;

- Coach Jackson post-game, "It was a gamble that paid off. Sean (May) was the difference maker on the glass tonight and gave this team confidence down the stretch. We got killed on the boards the past two games and needed a banger, an 'enforcer' on the block; Sean stepped up to the call."

- Quote of the night - Sean May post-game, "Coach Jackson called us all 'soft' among other things I can't repeat on TV, after our second loss in Denver; I aint soft."

- The Rockets will look to tie the series Wednesday night here at the Toyota Center.

BY-THE-NUMBERS
Houston Rockets
Denver Nuggets

[Lamrock]

I like the quick recap. Great idea with the tabs. Why the decision to change it up?

Congrats on getting back into the series. Tie in up in Game 4!

[OrlMagic]

good luck with next game and Congrats on getting back into the series

[Valor]

nice win, hopefully you can bounce back and win the series

[homicide1550]

another win and the series is back to square one besides it will still be in your home court.. Good Luck!

[Oskar]

Good job. NOH is quite in trouble, CP3 and Redd are both injured, it's sad you met Nuggets, I'd like you both to advance, but I think you'll win it. Good luck ! Btw, dazzling recap style.

[Clutch]

thx for the comments guys and yeah Lamrock, no reason really; just changed up to change up (a stagnation counter); also wanted a quicker recap style as the 'essay' form took considerably longer which i found killin' my momentum to update regularly

next 'cap coming shortly...

[Clutch]

QUICK 'CAP - Western Conference Semi-Finals, Game 4 Toyota Center, HOU

- Rockets' head coach, Phil Jackson, keeps same 'big' lineup that was successful in game 3: Tracy McGrady, Shooting Guard; Marvin Williams, Small Forward; and Sean May at the Power Forward position;

- Nuggets open more focused and physical than in game 3 but the score remained close, 25-24 at the end of 1st Qtr and 53-48 at the half, Denver leading throughout. Kenyon Martin and Yao Ming had strong first halves with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 16 points, 4 rebounds respectively;

- Houston managed to stay within single-digits through the third quarter before a complete and catastrophic implosion in the 4th. Denver would dominate every category, outscoring the Rockets 34-20, shooting a blistering 71% to the Rockets' 40% on route to a 107-90 thumping;

- Carmelo Anthony held Tracy McGrady to a playoff-low 13 points off a dismal 5-of-18, 28% shooting from the field, 25% in the 4th Qtr. Stifled by Anthony and the Nuggets' interior presence, McGrady chucked a total of 5 attempts from the three-point perimeter, only connecting once;

- Anthony led all scores connecting on 13-of-24 from the field for a game-high 29 points and added 4 rebounds, an assist and steal. He only seemed to get stronger as the game wound down, being set up time and time again by teammate, Allen Iverson, who tallied only 8 points but dished a game-high 11 assists;

- While McGrady struggled, Yao Ming, carried the Rockets with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists;

- Disappointed fans conceding defeat started to exit Toyota Center as early as the 6:00 minute mark;

- Kenyon Martin was assessed a technical foul during the 4th Qtr for 'taunting' a courtside fan who had heckled him throughout the game. With the game in control and after completing a thunderous alley-oop dunk, Martin thumped his chest repeatedly with one arm as he ran towards the fan, then leaned towards him with a hand cupped to his ear waiting for a response which never came;

- The 17-point deficit marks the Rockets biggest defeat of this year's playoffs

Quotes:

- Carmelo Anthony, "Houston's a tough team but we got the split we needed. Now we're headed back home to try and wrap things up."

- Tracy McGrady, "What it was like? It was rough, that's what it was like. Next question."

- George Karl, "That's Phil Jackson sitting over on the other side, haven't you noticed? The guy knows how to win championships, so I don't expect them to roll over and play dead for us. They'll be ready for game 5 so we'll need to play with the same intensity we did tonight, if not more."

- Yao Ming, "It's a 'must win' situation for us now but we can't dwell on this loss; we just need to play our best and take it one game at a time."

The Rockets will look to keep their season alive at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Friday night.

BY-THE-NUMBERS
Houston Rockets
Denver Nuggets

[OrlMagic]

Tough loss there. Good luck to your next game

[Lamrock]

!! What a tough loss! Hope you can do what they did in 1995, and be the only other lower seed to come from down 3-1 to win a series!

[Chaser7]

Damn, you really got to come back! I'd hate to see this end with just one game left.. maybe Clutch is "throwing it" since he's busy in real life and he accomplished his goal of getting out of the 1st round. j/k

[homicide1550]

Ouch! 1 Loss away from elimination.. You better step up or your season is over..

[Clutch]

thx guys. 'throwing it?'

game 5 coming soon...

[Clutch]

GAME RECAP

DENVER (AP) -- Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets held off a 4th-quarter rally in a 107-100 home victory to eliminate the Houston Rockets 4-1 in the 2nd-round series and earn a berth in the Western Conference Finals.

A superior Nuggets team dominated from the opening tip just as it had in game 4, leading 19-15 by the end of the 1st quarter and maintaining a 44-37 edge by halftime. Carmelo Anthony carried the early scoring load for Denver in the first half while aggressive play by Yao Ming kept Houston within striking range.

But the Nuggets would storm out after halftime with 6 consecutive baskets, the major damage being inflicted by veteran guard, Antonio Daniels, who knocked home 3 treys in the quarter to break the game open. Daniels' hot shooting resulted in his best game of the series, finishing with 14 points off 5-of-6 from the field (4-of-4 from downtown) plus 2 rebounds and an assist.

By the start of the 4th period, the Rockets found themselves facing a daunting 15-point deficit, trailing 60-75. But despite the task, the Rockets would not concede the victory easily as Tracy McGrady and Yao led a final surge to whittle the Nuggets lead to 6-points with just under 5 minutes remaining.

It would be the duo's last gasp, however, as the rest of their teammates were simply outplayed and kept in check, aside from Deron Williams, who finished a solid night with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals.

In veteran fashion, Iverson controlled the game's closing minutes, forcing both Deron and Marvin Williams to eventually foul out on intentional fouls to stop the clock while "the Answer" calmly delivered the polishing free-throws to the crowd's thunderous roar of, "MVP!"

As the final horn sounded, Iverson met McGrady center court and exchanged a quick embrace and a few inaudible words drowned out by the deafening cheers of the ecstatic Pepsi Center crowd which had stood from their seats since opening tip.

"We played how we've played all season," said Iverson under a stream of confetti that steadily fell from the rafters. "We came home tonight and took care of business, like we're supposed to; it's definitely exciting win for us and our fans, but we're not letting up til we bring home the championship." Iverson finished the contest with a double-double 20 points, 11 assists and added 2 boards and a steal for good measure in his well deserved, "Player of the Game" performance.

"You’ve gotta give them credit," said Nuggets' head coach, George Karl during the post-game interviews. "Houston showed heart and battled right up to the end. It was a hard fought series but I'm glad we were able to close things out tonight and not let it get away from us."

Phil Jackson said, "They were the more aggressive team tonight and throughout the series. Daniels knocked down some big shots in the 3rd which really hurt us and Iverson did a great job running the offense and keeping everyone involved. They also controlled the glass and held most our shot attempts to the perimeter. We gave it what we could, but just couldn't get it done."

"It's a tough... tough loss," said Yao, visibly upset and choked up about the final outcome. "You train hard… work hard all season and suddenly… it's all over. I've been through this a few times now; it never gets any easier." Yao finished with a team-high 35 points, 9 rebounds plus 2 assists, a block and steal.

Yao combined with McGrady for 64 of the Rockets total 100 points. "It's bitter-sweet," said McGrady after the loss. "I mean, it's like… one thing to get past the first round; another to take home the ring. But mostly, I feel bad for 'Deke," he said referring to teammate, Dikembe Mutombo, now finishing his 16th-pro year.

41-year-old Mutombo, oldest active player in the NBA with perhaps his last opportunity for a ring fading away, sat the final minutes of the game with head stooped over and buried in a towel held to his face; his emotions, his disappointment hidden from view.

After the final buzzer, Mutombo was asked if this was in fact his final season. With red, teary eyes and in his all-too-familiar deep, harsh and raspy voice he replied, "I… I… cannot think… about this, answer this... right now… not... right now."

The Denver Nuggets, who saw a first round exit last season at the hands of the Sacramento Kings, are now just one series away from a trip to the NBA Finals. But first, Iverson and company must get past a revitalized former champion, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs.

BY-THE-NUMBERS
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets

CONFERENCE SEMI-FINAL RESULTS

[Lamrock]

Nooooo!!! I can't believe you lost!

Are you going to be doing a second season?

[Clutch]

i couldn't either

haven't decided whether i'll a) call it quits; b) continue with year two; c) continue with different team/franchise...

[Valor]

noooo ><
choose option B make some changes and win the championship!!

[jonthefon]

Definitely a tough loss. A second year would be great, but maybe it'd be nice to see a new team, this one's definitely been on for a while.

[kaiser_kobe]

Tough loss...hope you will continue this onto your next season because this is one of the best dynasties here at this time...good luck to your next year...

[homicide1550]

Waahhh... Im still in complete shock that you lost.. I would like you to do another season so I hope you would choose option B...

[Lamrock]

Go with B! This is a great dynasty, and it would be cool to see you make some moves and become a championship caliber team.