Swamigp’s Weblog

Rafer Alston scored 28 points and Tracy McGrady added 17 to lead the Houston Rockets to the 108-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Not only was this another win added to Houston’s total, but a victory to put head coach Rick Adelman into elite company by becoming 6th among active coaches that have posted 800 wins. The others include Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Jerry Sloan, Don Nelson and George Karl. Nearly half of Adelman’s victories came during the glory years of the Sacramento Kings.

Shane Battier pitched in 15 points as the Houston Rockets improved their record to 25-3 in their last 28 games, 22 of those wins coming in a row. Despite being 25 games over .500 (48-23) the Rockets are just 5th in the dominant Western Conference. In Spite of their current seeding the West is so good and so tightly nipped that Houston is only 1 game behind the leading Lakers and Hornets.

Rafer Alston scored 12 of his points in a first quarter in which star Tracy McGrady injured his ankle, allowing him to only score 2 points in the 1st. The Rockets were helped out by 31 bench points to help Houston keep their lead throughout the game. Chuck Hayes led the contribution off the bench by scoring 10 points to go with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Kevin Martin led the Kings with 18 points while Fransisco Garcia and Ron Artest scored 17 points apiece. John Salmons chipped in 15 points and 5 rebounds for a Kings team that have had trouble holding opponents under 100 points, allowing over 100 for the 17th time in just the last 18 games. To go along with the 108 points allowed to Houston, they also let the Rockets shoot 50% for the game.