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Yao, McGrady Lead Rockets Past Mavericks

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 April 2005, 06:00 CDT

DALLAS - Jeff Van Gundy gave Tracy McGrady a choice. During a timeout with 26.4 seconds left and Houston up by two points, the Rockets coach asked McGrady whether he wanted to stop the clock again if Dallas tied it. No way, McGrady said. So they decided McGrady would go right at the defense and take a quick shot, preferably off a screen by Yao Ming.

Great call.

McGrady surprised the Mavericks by charging up the court, going around Yao and nailing a 2-pointer with 2.2 seconds left. When Dallas' Michael Finley missed at the buzzer, the Rockets had a 113-111 victory Monday night and a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

"We shocked them a little bit by not calling timeout," McGrady said. "My teammates didn't even know. The only people who knew were me and Yao. ... I saw them scrambling on the defensive end. We caught them off-guard pretty good."

In the only other playoff game Monday, Indiana edged Boston 82-79. In games Tuesday night, it's Philadelphia at Detroit, New Jersey at Miami, and Sacramento at Seattle. All three hosts lead 1-0.

On Wednesday night, it's Denver at San Antonio, Washington at Chicago, and Memphis at Phoenix. The Nuggets, Bulls and Suns all are up 1-0.

With the next two games in Houston, starting Thursday night, the Rockets - who've won nine straight - can move even closer to getting into the second round for the first time since the days of Hakeem Olajuwon. It also would be a first for McGrady.

But he knows better than to look ahead, remembering how his Orlando team blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in the first round against Detroit two years ago.

"We've got to stay grounded," he said. "We haven't done anything yet."

Actually, McGrady and Yao have done something. This game established them as the Western Conference's new dynamic duo, filling the void created by the breakup of Shaq and Kobe.

The preseason hype and hope surrounding their union became a reality with Yao scoring 33 points - making 13 of 14 shots, his only miss arguably a turnover - and McGrady scoring 28 with 10 assists, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

"We've got to find a way to stop him," said Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 26 points but struggled with his shooting again, making just 8 of 21 shots.

Stopping McGrady and getting Nowitzki started are the primary challenges for Mavs rookie coach Avery Johnson, who has lost twice in three days after losing that many games his first five weeks after taking over for Don Nelson. Dallas closed the regular season 16-2 for Johnson and came into this series having won nine straight.

As bad a hole as this is, Dallas has been in worse. In 2001, the Mavs trailed Utah 2-0 in a best-of-five series before advancing. This group also goes to Houston having won a franchise-best 29 road games.

"It's possible," Finley said. "It's happened before. It's not like we have to win the lottery."

The Rockets led the entire first half, by as much as eight, but the Mavericks gained control early in the second half - for the first time since 12-10 in Game 1 - and were ahead most of the last two quarters.

Houston trailed 102-95 with 5:36 left, but McGrady began a go-ahead run of six straight shots with a long jumper. After Dallas tied it at 109, McGrady drove to the rim and slipped the ball to Yao for an easy dunk and the lead with 1:06 left.

Nowitzki tied it again with a jumper from around the free-throw line with 10.4 seconds left. It was during a timeout before that play that Houston had decided what to do next.

"They tried to trap me in the backcourt, but I got away from them pretty easily," McGrady said. "I just got the ball up the court. Yao set a great screen. I realized I was by myself when I came off. ... Let me be honest. I don't even know if there was someone else. I was so zoned out. I don't know, I don't care."

Houston won the opener easily behind a big game from McGrady, but a quiet one from Yao, who was taken out of sync by foul problems. He was aggressive from the start this time, scoring 17 points in the first quarter. His only all game came on his seventh shot, when Nowitzki popped the ball away as he was bringing it up.

Pacers 82, Celtics 79

At Boston, Indiana evened its series by winning Game 2 behind Reggie Miller. The 18-year veteran, who's retiring after the playoffs, scored 28 points, including the last basket of the game.

Indiana overcame its biggest deficit, 75-68, in the last six minutes.

"I'm locked into a great playoff series," Miller said. "I'm very encouraged how we played, for the most part."

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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