Rockets find resolve, thwart Blazers in OT
(Houston Chronicle)
Updated: 2004-03-23 16:58

The Rockets did not have to think of the pain of their losing streak and the leads lost along the way. They lived it Monday night and suffered again.

The Houston Rockets Yao Ming receives a hug from his teammate Steve Francis after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 93-85 in overtime Monday, March 22, 2004, at the Rose Garden, in Portland, Ore. [AP]

But reminded of how they had gotten in this predicament of needing a win so desperately, they finally recovered, as if driven by an inability to stomach another collapse.

Having blown a 17-point second-half lead, the Rockets rallied down the stretch to force overtime, then pulled away for a 93-85 win over the Portland Trail Blazers to end a three-game skid.

"That's all I could think about for a while," Rockets guard Steve Francis said of facing another lost double-digit lead. "I thought we maintained our composure. Nobody looked like they lost confidence or thought we weren't going to come back. I was just thinking, `We've got to win this game. We've got to win this game.' "

Yao Ming scored 10 of his 28 points in the last three minutes of regulation and the first three minutes of overtime, with the Rockets going to him on nearly every possession. But Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was livid about the mistreatment he believed Yao received from the officiating crew of Bob Delaney, Derrick Collins and Kevin Fehr.

"I don't say it very often, but Yao gets refereed totally different than anybody else in this league," Van Gundy said. "I have called (the NBA office). It is dislodging. It is impeding. He does not get the benefit of any foul calls in this league. I'll say it after a win: That is a joke.

"We're going to the basket. So are they. But 33-11 (in free throws attempted) is not equitable. Bob Delaney is a heck of an official -- I'll say that. Home or road, you know what you're getting.

"(Yao) is too easy to officiate because he does not complain and whine. He should not be punished for handling himself the right way with referees. He should be given equal treatment despite size differential. It's not happening, and it hasn't happened all year, and it's fallen on deaf ears."

Asked about the defense played against him, Yao said: "WWF. But that's a show."

After a nearly complete offensive collapse forced them to need a comeback just to get to overtime, the Rockets took control of the extra period. Yao gave Houston its first lead in more than five minutes with a screaming two-handed slam. Maurice Taylor hit a jumper. And moments later, Blazers center Theo Ratliff -- whose defense on Yao had triggered Portland's comeback -- fouled out.

After Derek Anderson turned a steal into a dunk to cut the margin to two, the Rockets went back to Yao, who dropped in a hook to push the lead to 89-85 with two minutes left in OT.

The clincher came when Damon Stoudamire missed a 3 and failed to get back defensively, allowing Francis to take off for a showy slam and a six-point lead with 28.8 seconds to play. Francis finished with 22 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

The Rockets did, however, suffer through another fourth-quarter meltdown.

They had been cracking in many ways since leading by 14 points more than midway through the third quarter. But Portland finally blew past with a 9-0 run, completed when Ruben Patterson was allowed to go unaccompanied to a fast-break slam that had the Rose Garden shaking as much as the Rockets.

But with another collapse in full flower, the Rockets finally did something about it. Taylor followed a Francis miss to stop the bleeding before Yao hit a pair of turnaround jumpers to bring the Rockets back to a tie.

Never better than when a game is on the line, Stoudamire immediately knocked down a 20-footer to regain the lead for the Blazers. But after Francis missed a 20-footer with 59 seconds remaining, the Rockets came up with the stop they had to have, double-teaming Stoudamire and allowing only a desperate Patterson heave to beat the shot clock. It did not come close.

The Rockets then made sure Yao got the ball, and he spun past Ratliff for a layup that tied the game at 83 with 20.5 seconds remaining.

The Blazers had enough time to work their offense, but for the second consecutive possession, the Rockets would not allow a shot. Yao and Francis trapped the ball out of Stoudamire's hands before Jim Jackson and Francis suffocated Zach Randolph to the point he had to force up an airball that sent the game to overtime.

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