| Rockets Rock The Bulls Authored by Jason Linnard - March 2, 2005 - 12:51 am
The Rockets stepped on the United Center court determined not to let their streak get to 4 games.
What happened next couldn’t help but put a smile on Rocket’s fans’ faces.
In a valiant effort, the Rockets routed the Bulls 119-89, snapping their 3 game losing streak and the Bull’s small winning streak of two games. They had won 6 of their last 7 games. The Rockets improved to 33-24.
The Bulls scored the first points of the game, but the Rockets took the lead off of a Tracy McGrady lay-up. They wouldn’t relinquish this lead for the rest of the game.
A tough moment for the Bulls occurred about 37 seconds into the game when forward Luol Deng hurt his right ankle when stepping on Houston big man Yao Ming. He had to be helped off the floor. The immediate extent of the injury is not known.
The Rockets did not leave many on the edge of their seats, ending the 1st quarter with a 36-24 lead off of 14-20 shooting. They extended that lead to 27 points by halftime.
McGrady had 19 of his game high 32 in the first half, and Mikes James, in his second game as a Rocket, tallied 16 of his 26 before intermission.
The Rockets led by as much as 39 in the fourth quarter. McGrady shot 12-21, and James went 11-15, 4-5 from the perimeter. Houston guard Bob Sura missed his 3rd straight game with a back injury. He was placed on the Injured List on Feb. 25.
The 30 point defeat was the largest margin of defeat the Bulls have received this year.
Next Up: Houston @ Washington Wed. Mar. 2, 6:00 PM CST
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