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Rockets lose McGrady but beat Hornets
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-26 13:47

The Houston Rockets lost Tracy McGrady, but weren't about to lose to the worst team in the Western Conference.

Bob Sura had 19 points and 11 assists, and former Hornet David Wesley added 15 points to help the Rockets beat New Orleans 81-68 on Friday night.

McGrady left the game early in the first quarter with a strained right hip, but Yao Ming scored 12 points — 11 in the first half — and Sura, Wesley and Scott Padgett (10 points) carried the scoring load in the second half.

Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady (1) lies on the court while being attended to by athletic trainer Keith Jones during the first half of their game against the Hornets in New Orleans on Friday, March 25, 2005. McGrady suffered a strained right hip. [AP]

Lee Nailon led New Orleans with 17 points but had little help. Dan Dickau, normally one of the Hornets' leading scorers, missed his first nine shots and finished with five points, all in the fourth quarter. J.R. Smith scored 11 points.

With Yao getting his fourth foul early in the third period, he was limited to 24 minutes, leaving the Rockets to play half the game with neither Yao nor McGrady on the floor. The result was a sloppy game with little flow.

Houston shot only 36.6 percent, but New Orleans was even worse at 35.1 percent. Houston had a 54-46 rebounding edge, however, with Clarence Weatherspoon and Padgett each grabbing 11.

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming (11) goes up for a shot but is fouled by New Orleans Hornets center Jamaal Magloire (21) during the second half in New Orleans on Friday, March 25, 2005. The Rockets defeated the Hornets, 81-68. [AP]

The Rockets have won nine of 11 games and three in a row. They began to pull away late in the third quarter when Padgett hit a jumper, then Wesley followed with a pair of free throws. Dikembe Mutombo then finished a pick-and-roll with Sura by driving straight down the lane for a dunk that gave Houston a 64-56 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Houston carried the momentum from there, helped by the Hornets hitting only one of their first 11 field goals of the final period. A driving scoop by Sura, two inside baskets by Padgett and Jon Barry's fast-break layup gave a the Rockets a 9-0 run and a 73-58 lead with 7:10 to go. New Orleans only briefly pulled within single digits after that.

Despite losing McGrady before he had even scored a point, the Rockets surged to a 29-19 lead behind nine early points from Yao and an early offensive rebounding display that led to 16 second-chance points.

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