Recap: Houston vs. Indiana
Sports Network | November 26, 2008
Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Danny Granger's tip-in with 13.7 seconds left was the difference, as the Indiana Pacers defeated Houston, 91-90, to spoil Shane Battier's season debut with the Rockets.
Battier, who sat out the preseason and the first 15 regular season games after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs in May, scored five points and grabbed seven rebounds in almost 30 minutes for the Rockets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
"I felt okay," Battier said of his debut. "My other ankle is hurting more. I sprained (the other ankle) late in the third quarter, but overall I feel okay. I'm still unaware of my movement and my body, and obviously my shot wasn't very good tonight. I was overall pleased with the debut."
Troy Murphy had a game-high 21 points and 14 rebounds -- including 14 points in the fourth quarter -- for the Pacers, who came into the game having lost four of their past five. Murphy shot 7-of-11 from the field -- including 4-of- 6 from long distance -- and Granger had 16 points in the win. Brandon Rush added 11 points, and Jarrett Jack and T.J. Ford each had 10 points for Indiana.
"We've had the lead in a lot of games," Murphy said. "For us to get a win on the road was huge. We played great defense the whole season, holding teams to under their normal field goal percentage. But we buckled down the last six minutes, started to keep the ball out of Yao's hands, and doubled up on Artest in the end."
Ron Artest scored 19 points, and Yao Ming had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Houston, which had won four of their previous five games. Luis Scola contributed 15 points and 18 rebounds, and Carl Landry had 15 points and 10 boards in the win for Houston, which was without Tracy McGrady, who sat out the game with left knee soreness.
"It was just a disappointing loss," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman said. "We just made too many mistakes. Offensively, we didn't finish the game, and it's too bad. It's a game we should have won, but Indiana kept coming at us, and they made the plays, and we didn't."
Jack's three pointer two minutes into the fourth cut the Pacers' deficit to six, and, after Houston went back up 10, Murphy hit two consecutive three- pointers to pull Indiana to within four with five minutes to play.
Yao made a couple free throws to make it 88-82, but Murphy came back with a layup to again cut the deficit to four. Granger had a couple chances to make it a one-point game, but he missed wide-open three-pointers on two consecutive possessions.
Murphy drained two free throws with 1:29 left to make it a two-point game at 90-88. After an offensive miscue by Houston, Murphy was fouled and made 1-of-2 at the line with just over a minute left. A Granger block gave the Pacers a chance to tie, but Jack's layup attempt hit the back rim.
Artest missed a jumper with 25.7 seconds left, and Indiana had a second chance to take the lead. Granger's layup attempt was off the mark, but he tipped in his own miss with 13.7 seconds left to give the Pacers a one-point edge.
On Houston's last possession, Artest drove to the basket and dished to Yao, who was unable to put in the layup. Granger blocked Artest's last second fade- away shot, and Indiana came out with the victory.
Indiana scored the first five points of the contest, but Houston responded by going on a 22-7 run to take an 10-point lead. Yao led all scorers with eight, as the Rockets took a 25-18 edge to the second quarter.
Down 36-30, the Pacers went on a 15-4 run to go up 45-40. Rush had five points, while Granger and Ford each contributed four on the surge. Indiana outscored Houston, 29-19, in the second and took a 47-44 lead into halftime.
Houston opened up the second half on a 14-4 run to take a 58-51 lead. Battier scored five points in the burst, and the Rockets held a comfortable 74-64 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Yao left the game in the first quarter with a cut over his right eye. He got four stitches and came back for the second quarter...Houston had won the previous three meetings with the Pacers...Battier averaged 9.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 80 regular season games, including 78 starts, last season...Murphy's 21 points tied a season-high, and he has recorded at least 10 rebounds in six straight games...Scola's 18 rebounds tied a career-high.
