Rockets lose to Mavs, await Lakers
(Houston Chronicle)
Updated: 2004-04-15 14:56

For a while, the Rockets were cleverly preparing for the playoffs, doing just what needed to be done.

Dallas Mavericks' Antoine Walker (8) goes up for a shot as Houston Rockets' Yao Ming, of China, defends during the first quarter April 14, 2004 in Houston, Texas. [AP]

They were dumping all kinds of turnovers in a regular-season game as if trying to exhaust their supply. They were not wasting too much offensively and were spending only sporadic energy defensively.

Between therapy sessions for late-season injuries, Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley were spectators. By the fourth quarter, each of the Rockets' top six scorers was done for the night, and Mavericks stars Steve Nash, Antoine Walker and Dirk Nowitzki had finished their half-game appearances.

But with players who rarely had played so much before, the Rockets completed their regular season with one last tease.

They fell behind by as much as 15 in the fourth quarter before making a run that in the end was as meaningless as the game itself and falling short in a 92-89 loss to Dallas at Toyota Center.

"There could have been (something gained)," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We didn't gain very much. We didn't play very well."

Mavericks coach Don Nelson felt differently, and that had little to do with the Dallas victory. Dallas finished the season as the No. 6 seed in the West and will play Sacramento in the first round.

"It was perfect," Nelson said. "I wanted to get a lot of minutes for Mike Finley (who played 42 and had 16 points), and I wanted to play a lot of players."

Both teams did that, but for much of the game, the Rockets played poorly enough to inspire the Kings and Lakers to try to win their way to a first-round matchup against Houston. The Kings rallied but lost to the Warriors.

The Lakers played late into the night before beating the Trail Blazers early today in double overtime when Kobe Bryant hit a 3 at the buzzer.

The shot sent the Rockets back to Los Angeles, where they made their most recent playoff appearance five seasons ago, for Game 1 on Saturday.

"You have to experience it to know what playoff pressure is," Jim Jackson said. "I don't think you have to lose. But you have to get out there and know how to win the game."

The Rockets might have benefited had they felt some pressure on Wednesday. Not that all of them considered the game meaningless.

"Ask Jeff," forward Scott Padgett said. "He wants to win every game. That's the problem with some teams in the league. In a 82-game season, they play some like they don't matter."

The Rockets can hardly look down on any team in that department, and on Wednesday, there were times when they seemed to be searching for something that mattered to them.

But there was some value to much of the Rockets' game.

Texans coach Dom Capers and general manager Charley Casserly, sitting in the front row, were able to judge the defensive end potential of Clarence Weatherspoon and Danny Fortson.

Francis and Mobley were in position to give Kelvin Cato someone on the bench to talk to now that he never leaves it.

And there was the potential dawn of the Bostjan "Boki" Nachbar era for the Rockets.

But until the final minutes, the Rockets generally showed less interest in their game than they did in watching the Lakers in the locker room after the game.

"For guys that don't play much, it was a valuable experience," said Padgett, who had 18 points in his second consecutive start. "For a large part of the game, they had their big players in. For most of the first half, I was matched up with Nowitzki. (Antawn) Jamison is no slouch. Michael Finley is no slouch. We were not playing a chump team."

The Rockets did make a move. Trailing by 15 and with their top six scorers on the bench, the Rockets rallied to take the regular season to its final minutes.

With a 10-2 run, the Rockets closed within seven. Padgett sank a baseline jumper. Eric Piatkowski, who had missed his first three treys, hit from the corner, and Mike Wilks dropped in another 3 from the top of the arc and then scored on a breakaway off a Piatkowski steal.

The Mavericks recovered and took their lead back to 10. But with 100 seconds left in the regular season, the Rockets had cut the lead to six, and Weatherspoon went in for a layup. But Mavericks forward Eduardo Najera caught him at the rim and blocked the shot, and nine seconds later, Jamison put in a layup. A flurry of last-minute free throws finally put the Rockets away.

Francis, who has inflammation in his left elbow, and Mobley, who has a sprained right wrist, are expected to be well enough to play Saturday. The Rockets won't have to convince themselves the game matters. And for the first time since October, they and the Lakers are as even as their split season series.

"I'm just thinking about us," Rockets forward Maurice Taylor said. "As long as we prepare, we feel we can match up with any of the teams, play with any of the teams. We're the type of team that can do anything."

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