- We're in Houston, Texas.
It's December 9th, 2004.
Less than a third through the regular season,
the surging 16 and four Spurs are taking on
the middling eight and 11 Rockets.
San Antonio is in-bounding the ball, up 2 points
with 11.2 seconds left.
But just a half minute ago,
the Spurs were in full control up 8 points.
So how did we get to this point so quickly?
Where a team historically known for their stingy defense
squandered an overwhelming lead.
We're about to reach the peak of a moment
that's regarded as one of the greatest
individual comebacks in NBA history.
But to get there and the moments leading up to the climb,
let's rewind.
The Rockets need to force a turnover here,
or pray for missed free-throws
to have a shot at extending the game
in front of their home crowd at the Toyota Center.
But if you look closely, this Rockets team
down to the roster, the jerseys, and hell, even this arena,
still take time to get adjusted to.
The early 2000's ushered in a new era
for the Rockets franchise.
Following back-to-back championships in the mid-90's,
the ensuing years were accompanied by identity struggles.
After falling short of another finals appearance
with the Utah Jazz,
the team managed to make the playoffs
in just three of their next seven seasons,
getting bounced from the first round each time.
Head coach, Rudy Tomjanovich, was charged with
making the best of a roster,
blending old head NBA legends,
while integrating young talent.
This mixed assortment of players led to lousy results,
with the 2001, 2002 team
finishing with one of the franchises' worst overall records.
Leading the young talent was a back court of
Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley,
who showed promise of a competitive future.
But the two alone couldn't achieve much
in the highly skilled Western conference.
What the two could achieve was gathering a sufficient
amount of ping-pong balls,
setting up the Rockets to land the number one overall pick
in the 2002 draft.
And with that pick, the Rockets landed this
absurdly large human being
who barely fits into the frame, Yao Ming.
The seven foot six, 310 pound
international phenom was an outright beast,
putting up video game numbers and leading the
Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association
to a title in 2002.
With his size and scoring ability,
it was a no-brainer for the Rockets to commit
their number one pick to Yao,
making him the first international player ever
to be selected first overall
without playing U.S. college basketball.
Several commentators doubted Yao's transition into the NBA,
but he quickly put that notion to rest,
leading the Rockets to a winning record,
falling just shy of a playoff birth,
and becoming the first rookie All-Star
since Tim Duncan five years earlier.
Included among those commentators
was former Rocket old head Charles Barkley,
who bet Kenny Smith that he would kiss his ass
if Yao scored more than 19 points in the game.
And, well, Charles somewhat made do on his bet
and puckered up.
- He kissed it!
Yes, yes, yes!
(laughter) (applause)
- The following year, Yao saw spikes in his numbers
across the board.
Thanks to new Head Coach, Jeff Van Gundy,
transforming the offense and making Yao the focal point.
The long-time Knicks coach landed with the team via trade,
eventually taking full control after Tomjanovich's
resignation due to complications with bladder cancer.
In his first year at the helm,
Van Gundy ended the franchise's four-year playoff drought
and instilled confidence in the big man
that he could lead the organization for years to come.
Oh, it doesn't hurt that this newfound success
came with a brand new arena,
an updated, sleek minimalist design,
losing the cartoon-ish rocket exploding from a planet
doubling as a basketball,
and new jerseys to drip.
And tonight, Yao's dialed in.
He's gotten everything he wants in the paint.
Defending someone as massive as Yao is hard enough,
but throwing his finesse with the ball down low,
and he becomes almost impossible to stop.
The best, and at times, the only option,
is to just blatantly swat at Yao,
sending him to the line, hoping for missed free throws.
But even that strategy brings trouble
because of Yao's efficiency at the line.
Yet with Yao's dominance, the Rockets still find
themselves down late against the Spurs,
a team, in recent years,
they really haven't played that well against.
At the center of the Rockets' frustrations
with this cross-state franchise is one man, Tim Duncan.
Yes, the man dressed like he's fresh off the grill
from your cousin's summer barbecue
is absolutely torching the league.
So don't feel too bad, Rockets, you're not alone.
A new season doesn't all of a sudden change Duncan's play,
seeing how he's already putting up numbers
strikingly similar to his MVP performances in 2002 and 2003.
In this game, he's been brilliant.
Like Yao, Timmy has been doing work in the paint
and been extremely efficient drawing shooting fouls
and knocking down free throws.
Duncan owned the third quarter,
scoring 12 of his team's 24 points,
including this filthy dunk
where he snatched Yao's soul right out of his chest.
On the other side of the ball, he's been just as special.
Making life extremely difficult for the Rockets in the paint
all while snagging just about everything
that comes off the rim.
With Yao and Duncan carrying the weight for their teams,
we find ourselves here with a meager score of 80 to 78.
This can be attributed to the Spurs' success
as a defensive unit.
But it really comes down to both teams being pure bums
on the offensive end and playing sloppy ball.
Especially in the Rockets' case,
as their roster runs a little thin
when it comes to scoring options.
Just look at who's on the floor right now in crunch time:
Yao Ming, Scott Padgett, Reece Gaines,
Ryan Bowen, and Tracy McGrady.
I'm sorry, but outside of two people,
the remaining dudes are utter garbage
and honestly shouldn't step foot on an NBA court.
The Rockets can't really afford to look to the current bench
for help either, because there,
you find a slew of no-names as well.
But, hey, at least they have 14th year vet, Dikembe Mutombo,
in his first year with the team,
to offer some much needed wisdom.
The current bench includes typical starters
and even people who started this game.
But, due to some key injuries,
like forward Jim Jackson, being out because of back pain,
the starting five is just as laughable.
The Rockets shovel out a starting line up of Yao Ming,
Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Bob Sura,
and Ryan Bowen, who replaced the injured Jackson.
And while I already talked about the,
let's say, nonexistent scoring abilities of Bowen,
that doesn't stop game announcer, Steve Kerr,
from praising his high energy.
- [Kerr] If there's one thing Bowen provides,
it's energy.
The problem is, not a great scorer,
so Houston trying to make up for that in other areas.
- [Narrator] This leaves 11th year Forward, Juwan Howard,
who's seen better days in the league,
and 10th year journeyman, Bob Sura,
handling the ball at point.
So, yeah, Yao's on the court
surrounded mostly by bums and mediocre dudes
who fought long enough to stay in the league.
But yet, here they are,
in the thick of it with the Western Conference powerhouse,
mainly thanks to this guy.
Yeah!
This guy, Tracy McGrady.
How'd he get here?
Tracy McGrady found his way to Houston
through a colossal summer deal
that saw the Rockets send their rising back-court tandem,
Francis and Mobley,
as well as Kelvin Cato to Orlando,
for McGrady, Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Gaines.
The Rockets lost key players that helped
develop and mesh well with their star big man.
But that didn't matter if it meant landing a talent
like McGrady.
Entering the 8th year of his NBA career,
McGrady had slowly but surely put the league on notice.
As a young and fresh out of high school,
McGrady struggled to find his footing
with the expansion Raptors, mainly seeing the bench.
After a trade sent him to Orlando,
McGrady excelled as a starter under head coach Doc Rivers,
winning Most Improved Player.
With those starter minutes,
McGrady blossomed into a full-on star,
becoming a walking bucket every time he touched the floor.
After T-Mac led the Magic to three straight
playoff appearances,
his team saw its' worst record in years,
ending with an atrocious 21 and 61,
good for worst in the NBA.
McGrady knew it was time to move on and requested a trade.
He was thrilled at the prospect of heading west
to join forces with the extreme talent of Yao and H-Town.
Now in his first year in Houston,
McGrady could be a potential hero
to steal a late game win for his team.
And with 11.2 seconds remaining
before the end of regulation,
the Rockets have absolutely relied on their new star.
That's nothing new for McGrady.
Throughout this season, the Rockets have seen exactly
what they acquired in trading for the scoring machine.
One week prior to this game,
T-Mac cooked the Dallas Mavericks in an overtime thriller,
where he was just short of a triple-dub.
But for most of tonight, he struggled,
and is a big reason the Rockets are down double digits
late in the fourth.
Standing in McGrady's way all night,
known agitator, Bruce Bowen, and role-player, Devin Brown.
The four-time all-NBA defender has become the epitome
of the guy you'd much rather have on your team
than battle against.
Bowen has somewhat made a name for himself
as a dirty player,
but at the end of the day,
he's proved himself as an elite defender
being matched up across the league's best wings.
Tonight is no different in the showdown with T-Mac.
Being the pest he's known to be,
Bowen has guarded McGrady tight,
forcing him into turnovers and ill-advised looks
with the shot clock running down.
As for Devin Brown,
outside the San Antonio area,
it'd be difficult to come across his name.
The undrafted guard out of the University of Texas
at San Antonio has played big time ball
in just about every other league not named the NBA.
This earned him looks from his hometown Spurs,
getting signed and cut from the team a few times,
but finally landing that roster spot for the long haul
this season.
And tonight, he's shown what he can do.
Besides joining Bowen in making McGrady look average
compared to his standards,
Brown has been a tremendous spark offensively off the bench.
Hitting back-to-back deep jumpers late in the third,
Brown was a huge factor in the momentum swing
that saw the Spurs grab just their third lead of the game.
And despite a few honest efforts at recapturing the
lead by the Rockets,
the Spurs momentum carried over into the fourth quarter.
Leading that fourth quarter charge
was none other than Devin Brown.
Slashing to the rim drawing fouls,
knocking down free throws,
and burying jumpers,
Brown led the Spurs on a 15-to-2 run,
which saw the team's lead balloon to 11,
the largest of the game.
After making just a single basket
in the past five and half minutes,
and their 2 stars being non-existent factors in the fourth,
the Rockets didn't seem to have hope on their side.
And any signs of hope that possibly existed quickly vanished
after Bob Sura air-balled a wide open three,
leaving Houston fans that stuck around
to decide they'd seen enough.
- [Announcer] And the Rockets are hearing
from the crowd now.
- [Announcer] Yes, they are.
- [Narrator] Despite that, the Rockets are in great position
to extend this game.
Getting here took the excellence of an individual
whipping up magic in such a small time frame,
the feat seems impossible.
With the Spurs up 10, T-Mac called his own number.
He dove hard to the basket,
only to come up short on the layup
where Yao barely lifted off the ground,
cleaning the glass with a put-back dunk,
closing the lead to eight.
And after a few seconds trickled off the clock,
Tony Parker threw a careless pass
that ended up in the hands of Scott Padgett,
leading to an easy dunk, cutting the lead down to six.
And yeah, we've seen how this story usually unfolds.
A team gets up just enough, but a late game collapse,
and particular free throw misses,
allow their opponent to claw right back.
But the Spurs had been great at the line all night.
And that continued as Devin Brown knocked down
a pair of free throws, extending the lead back to 8.
On the next possession,
McGrady took the ball up where he found Bruce Bowen
guarding him essentially the length of the court.
After a quick screen cleared Bowen from McGrady,
Tracy found some space
and drained a contested 3 at the top of the key.
With 35 seconds to go, the Rockets are down 5.
A quick foul sent Brown to the line where he stayed perfect.
Spurs are up 7.
McGrady took the inbound's pass,
where he was once again hounded by Bruce Bowen.
This is where things started to look a little odd.
Yao set a pick a full two feet outside the arc,
which allowed McGrady to get off a look over Tim Duncan.
Duncan, an extraordinary player,
playing magnificent in this game,
found himself a bit out of his element here.
With a clean pump, McGrady drew the foul on Duncan,
while knocking down a quality shot.
McGrady, feeling himself,
drained the free throw, completing the four-point play.
A quick seven points brought the lead within reach.
Down 3 with 24.3 seconds left.
After a Spurs timeout,
Coach Gregg Popovich inserted Malik Rose and Brent Barry
in for Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili,
swapping shooting efficiency over defensive potential.
With Barry inbounding the ball,
it gets worked around to Brown,
as the Rockets are looking to foul.
Brown, who's been perfect from the line,
instead averted the foul
and kicked the ball out to Duncan,
who the Rockets got the foul on.
Coach Pop was livid,
but, nonetheless, Duncan knocked down both free throws.
The Rockets called their final timeout
and the lead is pushed back to five.
Now on their side of the court,
the Rockets executed an awful inbounds lob to McGrady.
After ripping the ball from mid-air,
he moved up court where Bowen stuck with him step-by-step,
with little opportunity to create space.
No matter. For the third straight time,
he made it to his spot right by the Toyota Center logo,
rolls up, and drilled a three right in Bowen's mouth.
Rockets down two.
Now, just as we can't say the Spurs collapsed
because of their free throw shooting,
don't get it twisted in thinking that Spurs
played sub-par defense.
With one of the league's best perimeter defenders in Bowen,
and a team that stood atop the league in overall defense,
the Spurs contested McGrady's every shot down the wire.
McGrady just couldn't possibly miss.
With 11.2 seconds left, the Spurs called a timeout,
swapping both Rose and Berry in the game again
for defensive specialists Bowen and Ginobili.
Now with the ball on their side of the court,
Berry just needs to get a clean pass in
to send the Spurs to the line,
when the team has been nearly perfect.
Riding the backs of 2-time MVP, Tim Duncan,
and the unsung hero, Devin Brown,
San Antonio is looking to close out this match-up
and escape the insane, late-game effort from McGrady.
McGrady, now with Yao,
is looking to bring the franchise back to relevance
and submit their claim as a Western Conference powerhouse,
by knocking down a team that reigned at the top of the
conference for years.
Chasing the moving target on the scoreboard,
while maneuvering through a swarm of bodies,
McGrady willed his team to this position,
despite the lack of talent surrounding him.
And with 11.2 seconds left,
there's a chance to downright secure the win.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Announcer] Trying to make things difficult for
Brent Barry, gets it in.
Devin Brown, lost it.
Here comes McGrady, no timeouts remaining.
McGrady for the win.
Yes! - Oh!
- [Narrator] Yo! Thanks for watching Rewinder.
If you want to see another rare Devin Brown big-time game,
check this video out.
Or any of our awesome videos in the series.
Oh yeah, make sure to Like and Subscribe
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Peace.
(music playing)