Houston vs Utah Game 5: Return of the (T)Mac
A career high 16 assists has T-Mac one game away…
By Emry DowningHall
Before this series began Tracy McGrady asked that that all the pressure that comes with winning a playoff series be placed squarely on his shoulders. After dropping two straight games in Utah after winning two straight at home, T-Mac didn’t displace blame but asked that his teammates step up when their number was called. Last night in Houston, McGrady got what he asked for.
All eyes were on the sleepy star of the Houston Rockets and McGrady responded leading his team to a must win game 5 victory. T-Mac tallied 26 points and a monstrous 16 assists (career high) to lead his team to a 96-92 victory last night, holding onto home court advantage.
At the start, things looked a little bleak. The fans at the Toyota Center were on the hush in the first quarter after McGrady went down with a hip-pointer. Jeff Van Gundy may have suffered an aneurism on the spot, when he glanced over and saw his franchise bent over pleading for a timeout.
McGrady went to the locker room with 1:14 left in the first quarter. The man is a superstar but his history of injury had everyone wearing red, feeling blue. However, injury time wasn’t in the cards and moments later McGrady was back on the floor. Before halftime, T-Mac told Craig Sager that the hip injury was painful but smiled and reminded us what we already knew, “it’s the playoffs, this is my team, I gotta be out there.”
Houstons late run in the second quarter cut what was a 9 point deficit to 1 before halftime. The Rockets knocked down their last seven shots and were confident heading into the locker room.
The second half of this game was just phenomenal basketball by both teams. Utah and Houston had their offensive schemes clicking and even AK-47 was getting into the act. Early in the third he curled off a screen knocking down a tough fade away jumper. And then came down and added another from the corner. He had a very nice weak side block on Yao Ming, and hooked up with Carlos Boozer for a backdoor lay-up and an alley oop.
His state line wasn’t spectacular (8 points, 5 dimes, 4 boards, 3 blocks) but for those of you who have been following the, “what happened to my AK?” saga this season, did you see what transpired after his two handed dunk in the fourth? With 5.50 left in the game, Tracy McGrady, left Andrei to double the post. AK recognized this and cut to the hoop as soon as T-Mac turned his head. Andrei got the ball and flushed it with two hands for a nice finish in traffic. It was nothing spectacular but after all the issues he has dealt with recently it was the type of play that can get you going. As Andrei raced up the court, Shane Battier, slapped him on the ass as if to say, “nice to have you back.” AK’s face post slap was priceless. Anyone else catch this?
Speaking of Battier he wasn’t shy showing his range from downtown, nailing 5 treys on the night for 15 points and helping to spread the defense for McGrady.
AK-47 was working hard on defense when he was assigned to cover McGrady last night. But with 6.30 left in the 3rd quarter, things got ugly. Andrei was sitting back in his defensive stance, and was a little off-balance. McGrady recognized this and made him look foolish, blowing by his outstretched hand and throwing one down on a sliding Mehmet Okur. Hey, it’s Tracy McGrady. These things happen. If Derek Fisher is the alternative, I would take my chances with Andrei all night. When McGrady gets Fisher in isolation, it’s an automatic two.
You have to admire a guy with absolutely no shooting conscious. Actually, you either admire him or despise him, depending on the situation. Luther Head is unquestionable that type of player. I was poised to write something killing his jumper and shot selection after two bad misses to start the fourth quarter and then the kid goes off and buries two deep threes in succession to shut me up. Gotta love it.
Quick note: Once Jeff Van Gundy passed on resting T-Mac where he usually does at the end of the third, this game officially became a must win for the Rockets. Not that it wasn’t before, I’m just saying.
Gordon Giricek took a crack at guarding McGrady with about 7 minutes to play in the fourth. McGrady put a spin move on him with a little hook and Giricek fell to his knees. What a nightmare! McGrady then sliced to the hoop, presented the ball on the right side, took it up and under and finishing on the left. Charles Barkley would later refer to the sequence as, “Serious stuff.”
Utah stayed in this game by moving without the basketball, hitting the offensive glass and playing solid defense. They deserve a lot of credit for hanging in there and were able to withstand a couple of nice runs from the Rockets that could have put the game away. Matt Harpring was clutch off the bench nailing back to back baseline jumpers. Carlos Boozer then got the ball, foul line extended and went to the jab step drive, switching hands on a tough lay-up to bring Utah within a point.
The Utah run was cut short when Derek Fisher was called for a charge with 12 seconds on the clock. The play could have gone either way, but looked like the kind of call that goes against you on the road. Yao knocked down two huge free throws and Deron Williams’s airballed two shots on the final play as the Rockets held on for the 3-2 edge heading back to Utah.
This was by far the most exciting game of the series. McGrady needs one more to silence the haters but it wont be easy to snag in Utah. I think Barkley put it best when he said in the postgame, “Quit? No. A Jerry Sloan team will never quit!” Amen to that. Game 6 is Thursday in Utah.
Random Notes:
-Deron Williams struggled with his crossover to pull-up jumper tonight. When he has that going, he is impossible to guard because he truly looks to get his teammates involved and still doesn’t force a thing. He is a special player.
-Juwan Howard may not be able to dunk a basketball anymore (joking, sort of) but if you want to learn to cut and move without the basketball, as well as use your body, you should look no further the J-Smoothe.
-AK-47 and Matt Harpring on the floor together seemed to work well for Utah. Andrei is an excellent passer and continues to hustle even while struggling.
-Carlos Boozer failed to record a double-double for the first time in the series on Monday night.
27 Responses to “Houston vs Utah Game 5: Return of the (T)Mac”
May.1 at 2:28 pm
Shiz says:
Tmac broke GG’s ankles like: I MIGHT BE YOUR FATHER! lol.
May.1 at 2:42 pm
Nguni says:
The best game of the playoffs so far. T-Mac doing everything we expect and more…dude is sick. The up and under move between two defenderes after shaking off his defender, SICK!!!
May.1 at 2:46 pm
Reggie Evans says:
I only watched the last 5 min, so I was surprised to see T-Mac with 16 assists. At the end of the game, he was making some terrible decisions. He did make a nice layup, and the other good shot he took was an airball. He was really jacking em up. And why did Utah stop going to Boozer? Yao can’t stop him! Instead Utah got stopped by a out of control Derek Fisher drive. I ain’t hatin on the Mac, he just gotta show some better shot selection. At the end of the game, he was just proving what Oscar Roberston said about him: he’ll take any shot.
May.1 at 2:48 pm
Reggie Evans says:
After the game, did T-Mac say “It’s great to finally get out of the first round”?
May.1 at 2:51 pm
Edown says:
Reggie Evans: Haha, he kept his cool… that was the young Mac. But you bring up a good point about the two airballs. The one from the top of the key was a tough shot but the look in the corner shoulda hit iron.
May.1 at 3:21 pm
Shiz says:
Its either deal with the aggressive-shot-jacking Tmac or the sleepy-eyed-drifting-outside-the-arc Tmac. Cuz when he’s aggressive, he’s aggressive about everything, getting into the lane, creating opp’s for teammates, getting a hand in the passing lane…When he’s just chillin, he’s just chillin. I say hoist til ur heart’s content Tmac…It’s better than having Skip and Luther “doesn’t use his” Head doin it.
May.1 at 3:27 pm
Bigi says:
Big Mac!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLn45-7Pn2Y Indeed…
May.1 at 3:38 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
McGrady’s been one game away before. No chicken counting yet, please. I think this one’s going seven.
May.1 at 3:48 pm
Edown says:
Russ you’re trying to tell me you don’t trust the supporting cast of proven playoff guys like Luther Head, Rafer Alston, Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier to hit big shots on the road in a closeout game?
May.1 at 3:49 pm
Michael says:
Great game for T-mac.
May.1 at 3:58 pm
Nguni says:
Confidence booster for Houston. They are mo focused than ever to go into Utah and close this series out. I see the Rockets in the finals. T-Mac is doing his thing and he proving that he belongs way further than the first round and he gon’ take his team to the promised land like he said he would…GO ROCKETS!!!
May.1 at 3:58 pm
Nguni says:
western finals, that is…
May.1 at 4:47 pm
Max Airington says:
I still love that song. Pray for me.
May.1 at 5:00 pm
2G40 says:
I felt sure that Utah was going to win this series. I was totally unawhare of AK47’s meltdown. I feel sorry for Boozer because he’s a player. He’s putting up mad numbers each and every night but can’t get any help from the supporting cast. I DON’T WANT TO HERE ANOTHER DAMN WORD ABOUT HOW GREAT EURO’S ARE…YA HEAR ME, NOT ANOTHER DAMN WORD!
May.1 at 5:02 pm
2G40 says:
I having a meltdown just thinking about this series.
May.1 at 5:37 pm
Reggie Evans says:
I like that the title of the photo is “tracy and his gross vein”.
May.1 at 5:46 pm
Emry DowningHall says:
Reggie: Lol, I didn’t catch that… All Sam right there. I love it.
May.1 at 6:00 pm
jj says:
This series is definitely going to 7 games! And you know what? I don’t see TMac winning it. In a funny way, I always comparet TMac with Kevin Garnett… two great players, two all stars who always, ALWAYS, lose in the first round or fail to make the playoffs. Well, garnett did make it to conf. finals once, but he had a great supporting cast, which houston still lacks, other than Yao of course.
May.1 at 6:47 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
Nice recap, Emry. The thing that gets me about the Jazz is that they don’t really have a go-to player, except maybe Boozer. But down the stretch last night they ended up with their most important shots being taken by Matt Harpring and Derek Fisher.
May.1 at 7:05 pm
Emry DowningHall says:
Lang: I think Booze deals with the KG problem so to speak … It’s tough for a guy on the frontline to get the rock at times with defenders denying the post and all that… That is the job of Deron Williams to make that happen. They could use an upgrade beyond Fish at the two slot tho, no doubt.
May.1 at 7:20 pm
Iversonbrotha says:
I’ve always wondered why tmac is always so sleepy . . . . I don’t know if it’s a lack of heart or just laziness, but I think he could be better than Kobe if he just gave his all . . . . like Kobe.
May.1 at 7:57 pm
shu says:
I agree with Emry. Dwill is that player, just not quite there yet. A few moments in the third and fourth, I caught myself saying “coooldblooded..” a phrase mostly saved for Chauncey in the clutch. Second year kid, man I can’t wait to see how much he can grow. I thought they would design a play for Fish attempting a three near the end, with .4 not far back and all. Maybe they did, and HOU covered it well. A quality upgrade at the two is going to be tough. It’s necessary, but salary tied up with Booz, Okur and AK, should they rid one of them to fill another hole? And DWill is playing like a max contract type player, with Fish’s contract expiring the same time as the time Williams is due for an extention. They have a few youngens on the bench trying to grow up quick. Although he was once with the Jazz and got ousted by Sloan, DeShawn Stevenson seems like a good fit. Long, quick, defensive minded. Shoots threes pretty well, and doesn’t force his offense. This one’s goin seven most likely.
May.1 at 9:09 pm
Orlando says:
western conference finals bound…hopefuly againts Spurs….I dont think they can beat phoenix 4 times…
May.1 at 9:18 pm
Riley Ry says:
yea my T-Mac did his thing 26 and 16 i think he’s gonna have an explosive series in the 2nd round
May.2 at 2:49 am
forshow says:
forshow t-mac broke his ankles he was like crossover to 720 frontflip jam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May.2 at 8:28 pm
slate says:
Who cares who wins this series.Dallas -GS,Bulls -PIstons even Suns -Lakers.These are series’ Nash is THE MVP.B-DIDDY FRONT RUNNER FOR 2008 MVP.
May.3 at 11:26 am
Darksaber says:
Yes, “serious stuff” indeed. That move made me screammmmmm. just watched it again in slow-mo. Jeez, Tracy, u r nasty