Final - 2OT
Yao leads Rockets past Pistons in double overtime
Mar 19, 2009 - 5:51 AM By Chris Duncan AP Sports WriterHOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Rockets turned to Yao Ming and finally pulled away from the undermanned Detroit Pistons.
Yao scored 31 points -- eight in the extra periods -- and Ron Artest added 26 to lead the Rockets to a 106-101 double-overtime victory Wednesday night against the Pistons, who played without injured stars Richard Hamilton (groin), Allen Iverson (back) and Rasheed Wallace (calf).
Aaron Brooks scored seven of his 14 points in the second extra period, helping the Rockets (45-25) stay in third place in the Western Conference standings.
Houston opened the second overtime with a 10-0 run, with Yao scoring inside to put the Rockets up 102-92.
"I need to be more aggressive, I guess," Yao said. "I've been in this situation before. I think I need to do more for the team."
Brooks started the decisive spurt with a 3-pointer before Artest drove for two layups and Yao hit a mid-range turnaround.
"We did a good job of finishing up the game," Brooks said. "Yao did a good job. We got him the ball in the post at the end of the game and that was good."
Arron Afflalo scored 24 points, Rodney Stuckey added 21 points with 10 assists and Antonio McDyess grabbed 20 rebounds for the Pistons, who've lost three in a row.
"It's crazy how frustrating it is," Stuckey said. "I'm trying to be as aggressive as I can, but I just ran out of gas. We fought as hard as we could."
Afflalo sank a 3-pointer to end Detroit's drought in the second overtime and Walter Herrmann hit a free throw to pull the Pistons within six. After Artest missed a three, Herrmann hit a 3-pointer for Detroit with 28 seconds to go, cutting Houston's lead to 102-99.
Brooks went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line on the Rockets' next two possessions to finally secure the victory. Houston has won 13 of their last 15 home games and moved a half game ahead of Denver (44-25) for third place overall in the West.
"We needed to win and we won, even though we didn't play very well the whole game," said Rockets forward Luis Scola, who had 14 points. "We hung in there, we fought."
Yao scored on four straight possessions to give Houston an 82-79 lead with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons did a solid job defending Yao for most of regulation, holding Houston's center to 14 points through three quarters. Yao did not attempt a free throw until there was 3:12 left in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets finally found ways to get him the ball and Yao did the rest.
"We had to go with what was working," Brooks said. "Yao was playing unbelievable. I wanted to get him in the key, where he is most effective."
The Pistons grabbed two offensive rebounds and Stuckey hit a running shot in the lane to cut the Rockets' lead to one. Artest missed a long jumper, and Stuckey's free throw with 56 seconds left tied the game at 82.
Scola lost the ball on a drive, and Herrmann rimmed out a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.
The Rockets built an 88-85 lead in the extra period before Stuckey sank two free throws with 1:29 left. Yao hit two free throws on Houston's next trip, but Stuckey's driving layup with 26 seconds left cut Houston's lead to 90-89.
Kyle Lowry made a free throw before Stuckey easily drove for another layup to tie it at 91. Artest missed an off-balance jumper as time expired in the first overtime.
The Rockets outscored Detroit 15-10 in the second extra period.
"We fought and gave ourselves a chance," McDyess said. "But at the end, it wasn't there for us."
The Rockets led 42-38 at halftime after shooting 50 percent (20-of-40) in the first half.
Detroit shot 31 percent (14-of-45) in the first half, but stayed close by going 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. The Rockets took only two free throws in the half and went 1-of-6 from 3-point range.
The Pistons rallied from five points down to take the lead in the third quarter. Afflalo sank a 3-pointer, McDyess scored twice inside and Detroit shot 58 percent in the quarter to take a 65-64 lead to the fourth.
Will Bynum drove past Lowry for two layups in the first minute to stretch Detroit's lead to five, its biggest of the game. Detroit led 79-75 in the fourth quarter before Yao took over inside.
- NBA
DETROIT 101
HOUSTON 106 FINAL IN 2ND OT
Mar 19 12:40 AM - NBA
DETROIT 91
HOUSTON 91 End 1ST OT, GOING INTO 2ND OT
Mar 19 12:24 AM - NBA
DETROIT 65
HOUSTON 64 END, 3RD QTR
Mar 18 11:26 PM - NBA
DETROIT 38
HOUSTON 42 HALFTIME
Mar 18 10:41 PM - NBA
DETROIT 18
HOUSTON 20 END, 1ST QTR
Mar 18 10:11 PM
Related News
- Knicks Robbed By Late Call on Jalen Brunson Feb 13
- Pistons Lose 28th Straight After Blowing Lead to Celtics Dec 29
- Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers game preview Dec 26
- Alperen Sengun’s career night lifts Rockets over Pelicans 106-104 Dec 24
- LISTEN: Kiss Of Death, Episode 70: Regular Season Game 27 - Rockets defeat Pelicans Dec 23
- Pistons vs. Nets GameThread: Game Time, TV, Odds, and More Dec 23
- Rockets hope to snatch one from Pelicans before Christmas Dec 23
- Tom Gores speaks: 6 biggest takeaways from Gores’ sitdown with the media Dec 23
- Pistons vs. Nets preview: The wrong kind of history on the line for Detroit tonight Dec 23
- The Pindown: Losing with Velocity Dec 23
- LISTEN: Kiss Of Death, Episode 69: Regular Season Game 26 - Rockets defeat Mavericks Dec 23
- Rockets dump shorthanded Mavericks 122-96 Dec 23