Kevin Martin scores 34 as the Rockets breeze past the Grizzlies 103-87
Kevin Martin entered Friday night, averaging 30.3 points over his last 13 games against Memphis and he provided no respite to the Grizzlies this time around as well.
Hours after learning that Yao Ming has been ruled out for the season, the 6 ft 7” guard, provided Houston much needed inspiration as he shelled out 34 points on a 13-for-21 field goal shooting, complemented with 3-for-6 from downtown to spearhead the Rockets to their 7th straight home win.
Martin scored 20 points in the first quarter alone as Houston offense completely overran the Grizzlies in the first 12 minutes. The Rockets were on fire coming into the match as they initiated a series of unanswered spurts to rip apart the Memphis defense. Memphis didn’t help their cause either. The Grizzlies had 6 turnovers in the period and they also gave away one too many fouls as the Rockets shot 11-for-18 and got to the free throw line 11 times.
They scored 34 points to sprint away with a mammoth 21 point advantage from the very first period and never looked back.
Managing 13 points, the lowest any team has compiled against the Rockets in the first quarter all season, the Grizzlies failed to arrest their slide as the Rockets hit the ground running with a 9 point spurt to start the second quarter. The run capped by a Kyle Lowry triple pointer gave the Rockets a 43-13 advantage, their biggest of the match.
Staring at a 30 point advantage the Grizzlies finally started to warm up to the occasion and scored six in a row. The Rockets though kept a tight check on Grizzlies progress and outscored them 12-6 in the last three minutes of the second quarter as the teams headed to the locker room with the score at 61-33.
With the game virtually out of their reach, the Grizzlies played for pride as they slowly started to chip away at the Houston’s advantage. The Rockets though never allowed them within 24 in the third quarter and pulled off a 10-5 run in the final minutes to head into the final frame at 89-60.
The Rockets again led by 30 early in the fourth quarter, but the Grizzlies showed some fighting spirit as they reeled off a 13 point unanswered spurt to slash the deficit at 74-91, 6:45 left on the clock.
It was too little too late though for the Grizzlies as the Rockets rebounded with an 8-2 spurt to completely put the game away.
The Grizzlies though finished a forgettable match with an 11-4 run to bring some respectability in the score-line as the match ended at 87-103.
Besides Kevin Martin, three other players got into the double figures with Luis Scola leading the way 23 points and 9 rebounds. Shane Battier ripped in 5-for-8 from beyond the line as he joined Kyle Lowry to score 17 apiece.
Rudy g*y led the Grizzlies with 19 points but was ejected in the fourth quarter after committing a flagrant-2 on Luis Scola. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol were the other two Memphis players to notch up double figures but they combined for only 23 points on 6-for-29 shooting as the Grizzlies flopped miserably.
Tags: