The Rockets came from down around 9 or so points in the first half to hang on and win it at the end against the hometown favorite Timberwolves.
Rockets 85
Timberwolves 79
High Scorers - Lonnie Baxter - 31, Dion Glover - 17, Luther Head - 17
Missing in Action - Malick Badiane
There are times when you think Malick is going to be a heck of a backup (hee hee) and then there are times you ask yourself why is he out there? Today was one of those days where nothing offensively went Malick's way. There were times where he was out in front of the pack on a break, but nobody passed him the ball and he seemed frustrated by that. Based on personal opinion the 2 times that happened, it would've been a difficult pass to make and for the Bad Man to convert. He, as he seemingly does every game, gave the crowd something to oooh about. A Timberwolves player drove on the Rockets and tried to get a layup. A Rocket fouled the player, but he kept going up with the ball. Malick swatted the shot into the scorer's table. There really isn't much to say about Malick other than he did squat offensively - I honestly don't believe he even scored. He got limited minutes in the 2nd half. He still seemed lost at times out there during offensive sets and on defense.
Lonnie Baxter looked like the second coming of Moses Malone or Charles Barkley out there. He was taking people down the baseline for reverse jams and layups all night. Somewhere in the 3rd quarter he had about 17 points. He cranked it up in the 4th quarter where it just became the Baxter show. They kept going to him and he kept delivering the bucket or drawing the foul. There was nothing spectacular about his game. He was the go to guy in the 4th quarter and it showed by the end of the game as he was pretty winded and breathing hard. I said in the last game thread that I thought Baxter would make a decent backup and nothing about his play has changed my mind. He does seem to get boxed out sometimes on rebounds and at times seems out of position, but I loved the fact that he continued to prove he could stick a wide open 12-16 foot jumper and if needed, drive down the baseline or into the paint for a layup.
Luther Head is Mr. Cool. That's the only thing I can think of when I see him out there. He's so calm, composed, and focused. When you see him, you think of a Cuttino Mobley at times. I always liked Mobes' play except when he did something stupid. I saw Head take maybe one ill-advised shot, but heck, he was open, it was a 3, and I guess that's his job - to take that shot. His shot still wasn't falling early on and it seemed like he decided not to shoot much because of it. Somewhere in the 4th somebody told him he had to shoot and he began gunning again. As I said, his shooting still wasn't the greatest, but he showed NBA range on his shot by nailing at least 2 3's. He also has great form on his jumpshot and his free throws. The other thing I still love about his play is that he can absolutely fly on fastbreaks. Tracy McGrady is going to love this kid if he plays much this season. Head finished with 17 points, but it started out rocky. His aggressive defense caused him to pick up 2 quick fouls in the 1st quarter. As a result, he left the game at the 7:08 mark of the 1st and didn't come back until the 8:20 mark of the 2nd quarter. I hope his shot comes back... I'm not trying to make comparisons, but the whole "his shot wasn't there" over and over seems to remind me of Bostjan Nachbar (ok, so I pray I'm reaching with that comparison).
John Lucas, Jr. had a pretty decent game. At times he was wild, but then you also saw him make some pretty incredible shots for a guy his size. Rockets trainer Keith Jones was shaking hands with him after the game so you know the whole John Lucas connection was there.
Chuck Hayes got a lot more playing time today but didn't stand out. Also Billy Keys played a few minutes today, but again, didn't stand out. Most of the PG duties the first 3 games have been handled by Joe Crispin and Hollis Price. They both have done admirably although Crispin got into foul trouble today.
No one else on the Rockets stood out in terms of play.
It was nice to see the Rockets crank up their defense in the 2nd half after trailing early. It was clear someone (Thibodeaux?) either got after them or changed up his strategy at halftime - it showed in their play.
