Not the Hair!!(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Kevin Martin scored 28 points, Jared Jeffries and rookie Jordan Hill played key roles down the stretch, and Houston rallied to beat the New York Knicks 116-112 on Sunday.
There is nothing like matinée basketball at Madison Square Garden. The Houston Rockets went up against the New York Knicks in what was Tracy McGrady’s first game against his former team.
Early in the game T-Mac looked to be exacting revenge, playing the entire first quarter and finishing with eight points and five rebounds in helping New York take a 32-17 lead. McGrady finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes, but was scoreless in the fourth. He missed all three shots after asking to re-enter to play 5 minutes in the final period, even though he was already over his average of about 25 a game.
“When you play with some of those guys for five, six years, you definitely want to go out there and compete against them and show them up a little bit,” McGrady said.
Defense was non-existent in this game. Both teams shot over 50% from the floor. The Knicks held a early 17-point lead, but watched the Rockets bench close the gap by halftime.
David Lee apperaed to strike fear in every Rocket finishing with 27 points and 20 boards. Both Danilo Gallinari and Toney Douglas each scored 26, with Douglas making a franchise rookie-record six 3-pointers in the best game of his career. Unfortunatly Douglas had three turnovers in the final minutes that led to 7 straight Rockets points from Aaron Brooks who finished with 16.
Ex-Knicks Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries stole the show in place of Luis Scola(upset stomach) and Shane battier(hyperextended knee). Hill finished with a season-high 13 points, while Jeffries, who had been the Knicks’ best defensive player, stepped in to take some crucial charges in the final quarter.
