|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
HOUSTON (AP) – Steve Francis is just what the Houston Rockets
need.
|  | | The Warriors' Antawn Jamison, center, loses the handle as Kenny Thomas defends. |
"He's a star player. He does so many things for us. I guess I
shouldn't be surprised that he's that good, but he's better than we
expected," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said after Francis
scored 24 points, including four free throws in the final :09 of
play, to lead the Rockets to an 86-81 victory over the Golden State
Warriors.
Saturday's victory was Houston's 13th in its last 16 games.
Antawn Jamison led Golden State with 33 points, while Chris
Porter had 11 and Adonal Foyle 10.
The loss is the sixth straight for Golden State and its 10th in
its last 11 games. The Warriors have lost 17 of their last 20 games
against the Rockets.
"It's been a crazy year for us. Something always seems to go
wrong this season, but we're building for the future," Jamison
lamented.
Reserve Moochie Norris scored nine of his 11 points in the
fourth quarter for the Rockets.
"We came up with some big plays in the fourth quarter. Moochie
played great and really picked us up. We got some offensive
rebounds and some second-chance points," Tomjanovich said.
"When I come off the bench, I've got to bring in some positive
energy," Norris explained. "I've been working on trying to get
more shots when the defense double-teams Cuttino and Steve. That
will leave me free and I have to knock down those shots."
A basket by Norris gave Houston a 72-65 lead with 9:27
remaining. Jamison scored twice to cut the Warriors' deficit to
72-69 before Norris scored seven straight to give the Rockets a
79-71 lead with 4:54 on the clock.
Jamison scored six straight points to narrow the score to 82-81
with 29 seconds left before Francis secured the victory with a pair
of free throws with nine seconds showing on the clock and two more with two seconds remaining.
Vonteego Cummings missed a 3-point shot for the Warriors with
four seconds left that would have tied the game.
"We had a chance to tie it up and I had a great look at the
basket. I just blew the shot," Cummings said.
Golden State scored 10 straight points in the first quarter and
the Rockets had a 19-2 scoring run in the second period. The
Warriors finished the first half with a 14-4 scoring run to lead
46-44 at intermission.
Golden State forged a 59-55 advantage with 5:07 left in the
third period. Houston then outscored the Warriors 11-2 to lead
66-61 going into the final period.
Game notes
After losing 21 of 23 games when trailing at the start of
the fourth quarter, Houston has won two in a row under those
circumstances. ... Houston announced Saturday that it has signed
point guard Sean Colson to a second 10-day contract. In three games
with the Rockets, Colson has recorded one assist in six minutes of
play. ... Mookie Blaylock and Marc Jackson both missed Golden
State's game with Houston Saturday. Blaylock was suffering from a
stomach virus and Jackson a strained right groin. ... Golden State
has used 21 different players this season and has lost an NBA-high
287 player games due to injury. ... Golden State has lost 28 of its
last 33 games against Houston.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Golden State Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 107
New Jersey 101
Atlanta 93
Chicago 90
Charlotte 100
Milwaukee 90
Orlando 105
Minnesota 93
Houston 86
Golden State 81
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Steve Francis drives to the hoop and slams it over Antawn Jamison.
avi: 552 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
