Now we've got the makings of a great series.
After shooting miserably in the first two games of the series in losses to the Lakers in Los Angeles, the Houston Rockets picked apart the Lakers defense with brilliant 3-point shooting to pull out a 102-91 victory in the first playoff game in Houston in five years.
Still trailing in the best-of-7 series 2-1, the 9-of-16 shooting from 3-point range and the brilliant inside-outside combination of Yao Ming and Steve Francis produced hope and a reminder that the two teams split four games during the regular season as well.
Yao had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Francis contributed 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, including two amazing double-clutch reverse layups over Shaquille O'Neal while being fouled to put the game away down the stretch.
O'Neal did have 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant, who became the youngest player to play in his 100th playoff game Friday night, had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The biggest problem was the Lakers were pounded on the boards 49-42 and never regained the lead after the first quarter.
Finally, Francis and Yao became more patient with the pick and roll, pulling O'Neal out of position and creating far more open looks from all over the court. It's why the Rockets shot .481 from the field and .563 from 3-point range Friday night as opposed to the .408 and .227 respectively in the previous two games. In fact, four minutes into the second quarter, the Rockets were 5-of-8 from 3-point range after making just 5-of-22 in the Games 1 and 2.
This was no accident, and it's not just the home court. It was a game of reckoning for Francis, a three-time All-Star, in the series of his life to prove he is worthy of such respect.
Besides the always-solid 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists from Jim Jackson, who strained his lower back in the first quarter, Maurice Taylor came off the bench with 16 points for a big shot in the arm.
Obviously, the Rockets aren't out of the woods yet, but this was a nice start for coach Jeff Van Gundy and his crew. The first order of business was actually believing they could beat the Lakers in a playoff game.
Mission accomplished, which beats the heck out of mission impossible any day.
Notable
- The Indiana Pacers bench outscored the Boston Celtics starters 58-54, and the Pacers rolled to a 108-85 win over the Celtics to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. It was the worst playoff defeat in Celtics history, as all 12 Pacers scored... led by bench forwards Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender with 19 points apiece. The Pacers had lost six playoff games in succession to the Celtics in Boston and they now are 2-7 all time in the playoffs against the Celtics.
- Second-year forward Bostjan Nachbar came off the bench to drain a 3-pointer, grab three rebounds and draw a couple of fouls in the first half for the Rockets. Lakers second-year guard Kareem Rush continues to prove he's a big-time shooter, sinking 2-of-3 from 3-point range and now 6-of-9 in the series.
Forgettable
- Celtics All-Star Paul Pierce was held to just nine points on 4-of-17 shooting by Pacers defensive player of the year Ron Artest. For the series, Pierce is making just .302 of his shots in the series and 2-for-9 from 3-point range. Averaging 19.3 points during the series, Pierce has averaged 23.2 points a game, while shooting .432 from the field and .356 in his six-year career.
- Shaquille O'Neal is living a nightmare from the free throw line the past few weeks. Just 5-of-14 from the line Friday night, he's now 10-of-31 in the series and 50-of-his-last 132 ... .379. After scoring a career playoff low with seven points in Game 2, O'Neal had 11 points in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the game, but only scored four more points until late in the fourth quarter when he had another burst of 10. And in some ways it's even worse for Lakers guard Gary Payton, pushing himself through a sore back. He did not play in the fourth quarter in Games 2 or 3 after playing just four minutes in Game 1, with coach Phil Jackson's preference that Derek Fisher try to deal with Francis instead of the aging Payton. In 31 minutes, Payton was 3-for-12 from the field for seven points with seven assists.
What's happenin'
- The Lakers-Rockets game became increasingly more physical as the fourth quarter unfolded. Fisher accidentally hit Yao in the mouth trying to untangle himself from Francis, and Karl Malone knocked down Yao with a vicious forearm to the lower back. And to top it off, official Eddie F. Rush hurt himself with just less than two minutes left in the game and did not return.
- We're back to the weekend marathons, with four games each day. Saturday, Minnesota plays at Denver, Sacramento is at Dallas with the home teams trailing 0-2, with the Detroit Pistons traveling to Milwaukee in a series deadlocked at 1-1, and the disintegrating New Orleans Hornets hoping against hope that they can come back after falling behind Miami 2-0. The other eight teams will all play Sunday.
- With the Rockets win over the Lakers, they join the Milwaukee Bucks (who defeated the Detroit Pistons Thursday night) as the only teams to have a win over the higher seed. Entering Saturday's games, the higher seed holds a commanding 16-2 lead in games.
- The Lakers-Rockets series resumes in Houston Sunday, as does the Pacers-Celtics matchup in Boston. Also playing Sunday are last year's two conference champions looking to complete sweeps of their first-round opponents. The New Jersey Nets are at New York against the Knicks and the defending champion San Antonio Spurs are playing the Grizzlies in Memphis.
Quotable
- In the line of the night that just spews resignation to reality, Pierce said, "They're a much more talented team than us. They are well-coached and when you don't really have everyone on the same page and at a consistent level, it really gets exposed in the playoffs. They are just showing our youth and immaturity."
redsman25 
