T-Mac's Toyota Tuesday

Houston Rockets’ All-star, Tracy McGrady, saw his first action since last February when he came off the bench to score three points against the Detroit Pistons at Toyota Center Tuesday night. McGrady was sidelined last winter because of season-ending microfracture knee surgery. Houston head coach, Rick Adelman, brought his seven time All-Star into the game during the first quarter of the Rockets’ 107-96 victory. McGrady didn’t overwhelm the crowd, but made an encouraging comeback in front of the adoring Houston fans. T-Mac clocked just under eight minutes as his team rolled through one of their best offensive showings of the season. The Rockets shot a season high 54.7 percent and did so without star G/F, Trevor Ariza. Ariza was serving a one game suspension for throwing a forearm at Raptors guard, DeMar De Rozan on Sunday. Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks lead the way for Houston, while snapping the Pistons’ five game winning streak.
Brooks and Scola scored 23 points apiece and got better looks and ball movement throughout the game. Carl Landry hit seven free throws and threw up 19 points in cooking the Pistons. Scola topped his season-high in points while going 10-of-16 and being the most dominant player in the opening quarter. Brooks bucketed 20 or more points for his sixth time in eight games, and picked up 10 assists. McGrady was brought in to help stop one of the league’s best offensive rebounding teams. He snagged three rebounds and hit a line drive three pointer with 1:33 left before his floor time was over. T-Mac missed his first shot attempt, a 20 foot flip. McGrady sat out the remainder of the game following his season debut in the first quarter. Former Arizona shooter, rookie Chase Budinger, sparked the defense with 12 rebounds in 40 minutes. The second round draft pick was sharp in his first career start in place of Ariza.
Houston continued to look smooth on offense after McGrady’s departure. Their ball handling was efficient even after the ten point first quarter advantage where the Rockets shot 67% from the field. The free throw shooting overpowered Detroit and propelled Houston to their high victory margin. The Pistons shot just 43% from the floor in a poor defensive effort. The Rockets capitalized on the lax defense during an 11-0 run to reverse Detroit’s lead into a Houston 22-15 edge in the first half. They stretched the lead to 15 early in the second quarter. The Rockets headed to the locker room on the up side of a 56-47 score. The Pistons got off to a slow start. Rodney Stuckey was especially atrocious early in the contest. Stuckey missed nine of his first ten shots before recovering to total 17 points for the struggling Pistons. The amount was still lower than Stuckey’s average 23 points per game. Richard Hamilton chipped in 21 points, including seven of his first eight of the night. It was Rip’s second game back after an ankle sprain. The Rockets were successful in neutralizing Hamilton in the second half. The Pistons closed the gap to eight at the end of the third quarter. Houston dished out 23 assists during the first three quarters to climb to double-digit leads throughout most of the game. Budinger drained a pair of jumpers to extend the Rockets’ lead in the fourth to 81-68. The rookie drove hard to the hoop and picked up an incredible alley-oop shot. The Pistons showcased one of their own rookies when DaJuan Summers knocked down a three and finished with six points in nine minutes. Detroit’s west woes were highlighted by 44 rebounds to match Houston’s total. The Pistons were playing without two key players. Will Bynum and Ben Gordon were out with injuries for 11-13 Detroit. Charlie Villanueva looked sloppy missing a fourth quarter dunk, but finished with 16 points, including a pair from downtown. Jonas Jerebko, the Swedish-born rookie forward, added 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in the loss. Overall, it was a step in the right direction for Houston. They saw their 12 year veteran player return to the court and competed studiously to cement their 14th win. The Rockets take on Denver this evening looking for win number 15.

Parting Points: The LA Kings are playing some stimulating hockey. They’re in first place out West for the first time since 1992.