Tracy McGrady had 20 points, seven rebounds and
four assists, and the Houston Rockets wrapped up their unbeaten West Coast
swing with a 97-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.
Juwan Howard added 18 points and seven rebounds before leaving with a
sprained right knee late in
Houston's fifth straight victory, the team's second-longest winning streak
of the season behind an eight-game run from Jan. 31-Feb. 15.
The Rockets held off a remarkable rally by Golden State in the waning
moments.
Mickael Pietrus hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Warriors to
79-74 with 7:37 left. Zarko Cabarkapa then made consecutive 3s that got it
to 87-83 with 4:49 left. Pietrus tied it with a four-point play at 2:56,
but McGrady hit a jumper on the other end.
Yao Ming made two free throws with 49 seconds left and David Wesley hit
two with 10 seconds remaining. Baron Davis made a layup moments later,
then Wesley converted two more free
throws. Pietrus missed a long 3 at the buzzer.
The Warriors got a huge boost off the bench from Cabarkapa, who added
career highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes.
Yao had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Wesley added 16 points.
Houston's previous four wins came against four of the best five teams
in the Western Conference: Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix and Sacramento. But it
was the last-place Warriors - they were supposed to be weary after an
eight-game road trip - who gave them one of the toughest games.
Howard went down hard after teammate Mike James fell backward into his
knee while guarding Cabarkapa. Howard was on the floor for several minutes
before being helped off the court by two teammates.
He grimaced in pain as he left. He was scheduled to be evaluated by
team doctors Tuesday morning.
Houston swept a West Coast trip of three or more games for the first
time since winning five straight from March 4-11, 1997 - against the Los
Angeles Clippers (news), Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas and San
Antonio.
Troy Murphy had 24 points and nine rebounds for the cold-shooting
Warriors, who at times showed signs of fatigue after returning from the
grueling eight-game, 13-day trip that covered 6,951 miles.
Davis, acquired in a trade with New Orleans on Feb. 24, was in the
Warriors' starting lineup for the first time, playing in place of the
injured Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy and forward Calbert Cheaney both were
sidelined with sprained right ankles.
But Davis, Jason Richardson and Derek Fisher started the game 3-for-27
- Davis 1-for-8, Richardson 2-for-10 and Fisher 0-for-9. Richardson
finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Golden State trailed 42-29 late in the second quarter before getting
consecutive 3s to pull within 42-35 at halftime. But Houston started the
second half with a 7-0 run.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-16 08:16
