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Tracy McGrady Archives March 2008
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Tracy McGrady Archives
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March 2008
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TRACY MCGRADY MAKES IT 800 WINS FOR COACH RICK ADELMAN
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March 25, 2008
- On Monday, Alston helped Adelman get a more significant number -- his 800th career coaching victory. Alston scored 28 points and Tracy McGrady added 17 as the Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings 108-100, making Adelman the 13th coach to reach the milestone. "I know that when you hit something
like that, you really think about all the good things that happen to you," Adelman said. "I have been really fortunate to have three different teams that are very, very good and that's why you get wins like that."
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Adelman, who won 395 games coaching the Kings from 1998-2006, is one of six active coaches with 800 wins, joining Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Don Nelson and George Karl. "Impressive," Alston said. "I hope they ask the question, who was on that team that helped him win 800? Years from now, people
are going to remember my name." Shane Battier added 15 points for the Rockets, who won for the second time in five games since the end of their 22-game winning streak last Tuesday. Houston entered Monday's action in fifth place in the Western Conference, but only one game behind New Orleans and the Los Angeles
Lakers for the No. 1 spot.
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Kevin Martin scored 18, and Ron Artest and Francisco Garcia had 17 apiece to lead the Kings, who've lost eight of their last nine road games. Sacramento allowed 100 points for the 17th time in 18 games as Houston shot 50 percent from the field (35-of-70). Several Kings congratulated Adelman as he walked off the court. "I helped him get
a few of those," Sacramento center Brad Miller said. "He's a great coach to have played for." The Rockets led by eight midway through the fourth quarter, but baskets by Quincy Douby and John Salmons cut the lead in half. Artest scored inside with 4:13 left to pull Sacramento within two at 91-89.
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"It's going to come down in games, especially in the playoffs, where you've got to make foul shots," said McGrady, who was 7-for-9 on free throws. "Tonight, we did a better job of concentrating on going up there and knocking them down." McGrady said he sprained his left shoulder fighting through a screen late in the game. It was wrapped in
ice afterward, but McGrady didn't expect to miss Wednesday's game against Minnesota. McGrady twisted his left ankle less than five minutes in and scored only two points in the first quarter. Alston picked up the slack, scoring 12 in the quarter, and Houston led 26-24. McGrady was resting on the bench as the final quarter began. He returned
with 9:01 left and the Rockets leading 83-79. He hit two mid-range jumpers and sank a pair of free throws to push Houston's lead to 91-83. - NBA.com
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TRACY MCGRADY TAKES CONTROL FOR ROCKETS 20TH VICTORY
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March 12, 2008
- Tracy McGrady scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half for Houston, which led only 71-70 with 5 minutes remaining. McGrady then scored five points in Houston's 10-0 run to take control. "We're really happy with this win because we didn't play well in the first half,'' McGrady said. "This
is a pretty ugly game tonight. We didn't shoot well and it was one of those games that our defense really had to win for us.''
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The Rockets are 20-0 since their last loss on Jan. 27 against Utah, including 7-0 since losing Yao Ming to a foot injury on Feb. 26. The Hawks have 16 losses in that same period. A basket by Atlanta's Marvin Williams with 5 seconds left in the game ended the Rockets' streak of 10 straight wins by
10 or more points. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 28 points, and Josh Smith had 16 points and a career-high 22 rebounds.
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The Rockets pulled within one game of the Lakers for the best record in the Western Conference. Even so, many observers continue to focus on the Lakers and Spurs and other teams in the conference. That's OK with Houston. "It's unbelievable,'' McGrady said. "For me to be on this team that has accomplished 20 straight wins,
that has got to be right up there with the most gratifying things I've accomplished in this league. ... You look at the Bulls that were 72-10, they didn't even do it. So this is pretty remarkable.''
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McGrady made only two of 10 shots from the field and three of six free throws in the first half as the Rockets shot only 27.9 percent from the field. Despite a combined 31 rebounds by Smith and Al Horford, the Rockets held a 56-52 edge on the boards and an 18-15 advantage in second-chance points. "We weren't able to stop them from
getting second chances,'' Smith said. "They crashed the boards today.'' Houston has held two straight opponents to 75 or fewer points, following a 91-73 win over New Jersey on Monday. - NBA.com
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