[40-14] Houston Rockets 104-88 Dallas Mavericks [31-22]
Just another game for Kevin Martin... | Patrick Patterson has emphatically made himself heard around the league.
It was Rodrigue Beaubois who led the Mavericks in scoring on this night. | Dirk Nowitzki was held to a meager 10 points.The game began close, but after
Jason Terry went down with a Strained Abdomen, things were not the same for Dallas anymore. Terry did not return for the rest of the game, and Houston continued to pile up the points. They had a double-digit lead at halftime, and it seemed as if nothing would stop them.
Dallas came out in the third quarter playing a little better, as they outscored Houston 27-23 for the quarter.
Rodrigue Beaubois led the Mavericks in scoring with 24 points and notched a double-double with 11 assists. He scored four triples and shot 8/14 from the field. To make up for the loss of Terry,
Michael Redd netted 19 points off the bench as he shot 7/13 from the field. However, the biggest plague to Dallas was
Dirk Nowitzki's struggle. The prominent German seven-footer scored just 10 points on 4/11 shooting, as Houston's defense was breathing down his neck all game long.
For Houston,
Kevin Martin provided the usual with a game high 29 points, with five boards, four dimes and a couple of steals to accompany that. Martin received some unexpected but very welcome help from
Patrick Patterson. The second-year forward out of Kentucky scored a career high 25 points off the bench in just 24 minutes. He also had eight boards, and shot 10/14 from the field.
"
[Patrick] Patterson's recent level of play has shown us he has a future in this league. It was definitely a long time coming," Rockets head coach
Rick Adelman praised the big guy.
Houston would go on to close the game out in the fourth, limiting Dallas to just 18 points and continuing their dominance over the Western Conference.
Notes: Houston's offense was fluid as they shot 50% from the field and had 27 assists. Their bench scored 44 points. Meanwhile, Dallas shot just 41% from the field and had only 17 assists.
Key Performers:Rockets:Kevin Martin - 29 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 12/21 FG, 4/5 FT
Patrick Patterson - 25 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 10/14 FG, 5/5 FT
Kyle Lowry - 13 points, 7 assists, 1 rebound, 3 steals, 5/8 FG, 3/5 3P
Yao Ming - 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 4/8 FG
Mavericks:Rodrigue Beaubois - 24 points, 11 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 8/14 FG, 4/8 3P, 4/4 FT
Michael Redd - 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 7/13 FG, 4/4 FT
Caron Butler - 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 8/20 FG
Dirk Nowitzki - 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 4/11 FG
29 27 23 25 104
22 21 27 18 88[41-14] Houston Rockets 116-90 Utah Jazz [18-37]
Shane Battier quietly had the hot hand. | Al Jefferson leads Utah's futile charge.This game was lopsided, to put it as an understatement. Houston began by knocking down nine of their first 12 field goals. Seven minutes into the game, Houston's lead was a draconian 26-4. On a ten-game losing streak, it appeared as though Utah was going to tank this game. However, slowly but surely, Utah began to claw their way back to make the margin look more respectable. To end the first quarter, they trimmed the deficit to 17.
Al Jefferson led Utah's futile charge with a double-double of 24 points and 14 boards.
Paul Millsap followed suit with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
It can be said Utah made the effort, as twice throughout the game they were able to reduce their deficit to just eight, making Houston's crowd restless. Going into the fourth quarter, Utah was facing just an eight-point hole.
"
We thought we could win it at that point, but when it's the Rockets, it's never a sure thing," Utah's Jefferson said.
Houston zoomed through the fourth quarter, mauling the Jazz 36-18.
Kevin Martin led the way once again with 30 points, four boards, and four assists. In a balanced secondary effort, Houston had four other double-digit scorers in
Shane Battier (16 points, five boards),
Patrick Patterson (12 points, two boards),
Luis Scola (12 points, nine boards, three dimes), and
Yao Ming (11 points, five boards, four blocks).
"
Our offense is just clicking right now, and I'm not sure if there's a defense out there that can stop us. Things have become extensively easy, and we are gonna continue to win more basketball games," Martin, looking ahead, said.
Notes: Houston shot 53% from the field compared to Utah's 44%. Houston's bench also netted 38 points, and as a team, the Rockets had 26 assists.
Key Performers:Rockets:Kevin Martin - 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 12/22 FG, 3/4 3P, 3/3 FT
Shane Battier - 16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 6/7 FG, 3/3 FT
Patrick Patterson - 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 5/8 FG
Luis Scola - 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5/12 FG
Yao Ming - 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 5/7 FG
Kyle Lowry - 9 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3/5 FG, 3/4 3P
Jazz:Al Jefferson - 24 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 9/18 FG, 6/9 FT
Paul Millsap - 21 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 10/18 FG
Devin Harris - 11 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 4/10 FG, 3/4 FT
JJ Barea - 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 4/8 FG
35 25 20 36 116
18 27 27 18 90[42-14] Houston Rockets 115-105 Toronto Raptors [18-37]
SimmedKey Performers:Rockets:Yao Ming - 26 points, 10 rebounds, 12/18 FG, 2/4 FT
Kevin Martin - 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 11/15 FG, 3/5 3P
Kyle Lowry - 12 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 3/8 FG, 6/10 FT
Luis Scola - 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 4/9 FG, 3/4 FT
Shane Battier - 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3/8 FG, 1/5 3P, 3/5 FT
Raptors:Ed Davis - 19 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 7/10 FG
Andrea Bargnani - 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block, 7/18 FG, 2/4 3P
Brandon Knight - 15 points, 1 steal, 3/10 FG, 9/9 FT
DeMar DeRozan - 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6/9 FG
Leandro Barbosa - 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 2/8 FG, 7/10 FT
27 35 25 28 115
32 34 24 15 105