| Rockets Slip By The Suns Authored by Jason Linnard - April 10, 2005 - 1:55 am
Tracy McGrady, welcome back to the playoffs.
McGrady scored 34 points as the Rockets barely defeated the top seeded Suns 98-97. With this win and Minnesota’s loss to Atlanta, the Rockets clinched a playoff berth. They currently sit 6th in the Western Conference.
The Suns were led by a big performance from Amaré Stoudemire. He totaled 32 points and 12 boards, along with 3 blocked shots. Shawn Marion had 20 points and 9 rebounds of his own. Forward Quentin Richardson was held scoreless on 0-7 shooting.
Dikembe Mutumbo played 23 minutes, as Yao Ming was in foul trouble early. Mutumbo totaled 12 points and 13 boards.
The Suns were down by 14 with just under 10 minutes remaining, but scored 9 straight points in the next 3 minutes. With 1:51 left, they pulled within 3.
With :14 seconds left, Steven Hunter put down a dunk, which put them down by just one. Bob Sura missed both of the subsequent free throws, giving the Suns one last chance.
Steve Nash missed a 17 ft. jumper, and the Steven Hunter putback was too hard as it nailed the rim and bounced back out.
The teams split the season series 2-2, with the visiting team winning each game. |
