Rockets team that stole hearts shows up to keep series alive

Remember this team? Sure you do. This was the team that won 22 in a row at one point.

You remember those Rockets, don't you? They were built on energy, resilience and extraordinary defense.

They shared the ball and got scoring from up and down the roster. At times, they did a pretty good imitation of being the NBA's best team.

Those Rockets had someone named Tracy McGrady, and for about three months this season, he played the best basketball of his life. He did what great players are supposed to do. He made those around him better, and at winning time, he made winning plays.

Those Rockets got you interested in the NBA again. You told your friends to check them out.

Just when you thought you'd seen the last of those Rockets, they showed up again Tuesday night at Toyota Center. They were facing elimination, trailing a best-of-seven series 3-1 and pretty much written off. Funny thing is, they didn't write themselves off.

At their Monday practice, they were loose and confident. And that's how they played. Their 87th game of the season might have been their best as they torched the Utah Jazz 95-69 in front of a roaring crowd of 18,269.

It ended with the Rockets getting a standing ovation from fans who wanted them to know how much they appreciated their effort and heart.

"They outhustled us everywhere," Utah's Andrei Kirilenko said.

Now this series of elbows and body punches shifts back to Salt Lake City, where the Rockets will face another elimination game Friday night. If they win it, Game 7 will be Sunday at Toyota Center.

"We played a great game," Shane Battier said. "We played all together."

McGrady was brilliant. The Rockets got nice offensive games from a long list of players, but as always, everything that happened began with McGrady.

He went for 29 points, five rebounds and five assists. He was just about unstoppable, throwing in jumpers one moment, driving to the basket to make plays the next.

Coach Rick Adelman worried that he was leaning too much on McGrady. The Jazz were swarming him with two and three defenders. At times, he looked tired.

Adelman urged his team to share the ball the way it had during the 22-game winning streak and for others to play with confidence.

The Rockets did that Tuesday. They spread the court and were crisp with their passes and accurate with their shots.

Pressuring the Jazz

Adelman also challenged Utah's big men around the basket. He called plays for Luis Scola and Carl Landry and preached about being aggressive.

"Down 3-1, we had to try something different," Adelman said. "We have to be aggressive. If we're going to be a reactive team, we're going to lose. We have to go to our strengths."

Everything worked. Bobby Jackson, Scola, Rafer Alston and others made big baskets.

The Rockets broke it open at the start of the second quarter with their second group on the floor. Jackson made three huge baskets; Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes also contributed.

Bench? Yes, indeed. In the first half, the Rockets' bench outscored the Jazz's 18-0.

In the end, though, everything was about the defense. The Rockets challenged almost every shot and held the Jazz to 36.5 percent field-goal shooting.

This one had a different feel from the start. The Rockets played with a confidence they hadn't had in weeks. Once they got rolling, they barely resembled the team that had gotten so bogged down for much of this series.

"We did a good job moving the ball," Battier said. "Why we don't do it more often, I have no idea. We just played with a lot of energy. We've got smart players, and when we get good movement, we're going to get the ball to the open man."

One thing stuck out about Monday's practice. After more than seven months of basketball, after countless practices and flights and hotels, the Rockets were having fun.

"Look around," Alston said. "You see guys that don't want to leave. We enjoy one another's company."

Battier said the Rockets felt more pressure last year when they were up 2-0 on the Jazz than this year when they were down 3-1.

"Just a different group," he said.

Team exudes confidence

McGrady met the media in a resplendent white suit and a large smile.

"That," he said, "is one of the better defensive efforts we've had this year."

Confidence?

"We're a bunch of confident guys," he said. "We're a loosey-goosey group. It doesn't feel like we're behind 3-2."

Tuesday night, it once more felt like anything was possible. Those Rockets made you feel that way.

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