Analysis can be found after the jump.
Monta Ellis saw it, as did every other eye on Oakland. We’d literally seen the end of this one less than two months ago, and I, a few glasses of wine in, could not help but wonder if I’d rather watch the freak show continue or my team actually pull out a victory. That is the conundrum that the sudden, Jason-Terry-but-with-God’s-fury bursts of Monta Ellis presents to a fan. What is being watched is no more an expression of Ellis’ hard work or will than any seemingly interminable scoring outburst from a role player; it’s just that he does it with such intensity, with such ferocity, that we are forced to wonder if this young man could be the best scorer in the league or the world or any sport. The transcendence he reaches in these supernova nights reminds the viewer of Gilbert Arenas, except Ellis’ on-court persona has to provide the style that he cannot, so sometimes, he overcompensates. Monday night, he certainly did just that; when he touched the ball, it crackled, waiting to be snapped against the net it could not avoid anymore than it felt that this game could avoid that imminent conclusion.The Rockets were watching this all over again, these moments that seemed like a stranger’s montage of highlights, but this time, they decided that if this story were going to be given a sequel, it would have to develop some new twists.
And like that, Monta just couldn’t get to the ball. No disrespect, but shoot it, Dorrell Wright. Flip it up there, Jeremy Lin. Be beaten by anyone other than that beady-eyed destroyer of worlds waiting for the hint of an opening or the whisper of a non-doubled screen (Courtney Lee’s smothering man-to-man defense did not give Monta much room, either). Houston did not budge, though; a victory would have to be disengaged from its clutches with a crowbar if anyone else really wanted it, and apparently no one else did, as much anyway. Monta Ellis would have to be content with a night that would evoke “Hallelujah”s from his fantasy owners (44 points on an unrealistic 20 shots with seven assists and three steals, and yes, he is on one of my fantasy squads), and the Rockets left another road game with a win, even if it were another against one of those California teams that isn’t the Lakers. The game looked, at least in the first half and beginning of the second, like one of those messy simultaneous-collapses that the Warriors sometimes goad opponents into via their predilection for terrible shots and wild passes; though they “only” combined for 30 turnovers, both of these teams obviously picked up steam in the final 20 minutes or so of this one. Luis Scola awoke from his slumber to dominate David Lee on the block at will, and while he may have needed 21 shots to get his 20 points, the Divine Argentine racked up six assists to help bolster the team’s numbers up to 31 on the game (the Rockets are currently ranking third in the league in assists per game and sixth in assist ratio). Kyle Lowry made up for another poor showing by the recovering Aaron Brooks by furthering his run of efficiency dominance, throwing in 13 points on six shots, eight assists, four steals and only two turnovers while ably manning an offense in the fourth quarter that desperately needed his playmaking ability as Ellis proceeded to dice him up on the other end (not that Kyle could really be blamed for any of it). More important than any other Rocket, though, was the team’s best scorer, a man who had neglected to appear as more than a ghost of flailing chicken legs in fourth quarters earlier this season, Kevin Martin. He appeared to be everywhere, answering Ellis three-pointers with his own, swarming Monta along with a couple of other Rockets defenders at any given moment and exploding for a two-handed jam that appeared to seal it toward the end. Martin (30 on 14 shots for the thin man) has looked different in the ends of games recently, even against tougher competition. I wouldn’t call it poise just yet, but he wants the ball, which is always a good sign from your premier scorer.
For the first time this season, the Rockets are sitting pretty on top of a three-game winning streak, only two games under .500 for the team that was the last to win its first game this season. Nothing appears that bad, even if nothing appears all that great. Even if Ish Smith, Patrick Patterson and Terrence Williams may not be playing (although Rick Adelman will have a lot of ‘splaining to do if Williams continues to be pushed aside for the freezing cold Chase Budinger), development through Lowry and “Hair Jordan” Hill has been both increasing and benefiting the team in the short-term. That will have to do for a team that still lacks that guy, the one who will save us all, the one Monta Ellis appeared to be when this team could do nothing but sit back and watch last night. Houston made sure it didn’t last long, though, through some inspired team ball, the kind the Warriors couldn’t muster and the Rockets had not been able to for months; after all, no one man should have all that power.
Houston Rockets 121, Golden State Warriors 112
No links today; I will get back on it when I can. Have fun, readers.
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