Kenny Thomas returned to the starting lineup and Steve Francis returned to the court. But after most of one game, they both left again.
This time, the maladies should not cost more than one game. After playing Friday for the first time since Nov. 25, Francis was forced to miss Sunday's game against the Lakers with the flu.
Thomas missed three games with a sore groin and came off the bench in one game before starting and scoring 20 points with 13 rebounds at Golden State. But he suffered a hip pointer that forced him to miss Sunday's game.
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Bryant removed the scorer the Rockets could not afford to lose, and the Rockets crashed to a 114-90 defeat worthy of their departed 15-game losing streak.
"He's just a good defender, he really is," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said of Bryant. "I've watched him play a lot of different guys. He's so athletic. He played a smart defensive game and they helped well."
That was what it took. And there were shots Mobley normally makes and had knocked down regularly in three consecutive 30-point nights leading to Sunday.
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With so many head coaches burning up and flaming out this season -- Jeff Van Gundy, Dave Cowens, Dan Issel and Tim Floyd are out and Pat Riley, Scott Skiles, Maurice Cheeks, Larry Brown and Lon Kruger are simmering -- maybe it's time to shed a little light on a guy who actually loves the job.
How about Rudy Tomjanovich? His Rockets have been utterly decimated by injuries this season. He has suffered through the worst losing streak of his career (15 games). In just three years he has gone from coaching three Hall-of-Famers (Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler) to coaching the likes of Kelvin Cato, Walt Williams and Oscar Torres.
Yet, there isn't even the slightest hint that he is losing his mind, or his sense of humor.
"Believe me, I feel blessed," he said. "This is a crazy, chaotic business and I've had a stable career as a player and as a coach."
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Rockets Dec 2001 Archive
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| Dec 30, 2001
After leading the Cougars to back-to-back NCAA championship game appearances, he topped that by winning consecutive NBA titles with the Rockets, and he came to be known as the Dream somewhere along his special journey into the hearts of Houston sports fans.
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| Dec 30, 2001
The Rockets may go to battle with the Lakers without Kenny Thomas' help, who got a hip pointer in the Golden State victory.
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| Dec 30, 2001
"Jim was telling me I was playing so hard and trying to do so well I was focusing on minor little mistakes," Norris said.
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| Dec 29, 2001
Before Friday's game in Golden State, the Rockets activated Steve Francis, who had been out a month with injury, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
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| Dec 29, 2001
What a welcome sight this was.
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| Dec 28, 2001
Rockets center Kevin Willis did not leave Denver on good terms with then-Nuggets president and coach Dan Issel.
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| Dec 28, 2001
Steve Francis will play his first game in a month tonight against Golden State, reports the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen.
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| Dec 27, 2001
The winning streak is snapped.
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| Dec 27, 2001
After winning only once since guard Steve Francis went on the injured list Nov 28th, are things about to change for the Houston Rockets? Maybe so, if you consider the fact that Rockets team physician Walter Lowe has cleared the super-athletic guard to play against the Warriors on Friday night.
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| Dec 26, 2001
Consequently, the holidays have meant business as usual for trainer Keith Jones and his assistant, Michelle Leget, who for the fifth straight year remains a pioneer in the NBA.
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| Dec 26, 2001
Rudy Tomjanovich plotted and prayed and tried to will his team a win until his body ached.
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| Dec 25, 2001
Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson saw Torres play for a Venezuelan club team several years ago.
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| Dec 24, 2001
Yes Rudy, there is a Santa Claus.
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| Dec 22, 2001
Steve Francis, rehabbing a plantar fascia injury since November 27th, is hoping to be able to return on December 28th against the Warriors, says Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
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| Dec 22, 2001
Abrasive coach George Karl and his Milwaukee held a team meeting yesterday to discuss the team's troubles before they meet the Rockets.
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| Dec 21, 2001
Moral victories are getting old, but this one was a little different.
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| Dec 20, 2001
When the Houston Rockets let the 24-second clock expire with 2:26 remaining in an eventual 101-92 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, a lone fan a few rows back belted out a hearty, "Boooooooo!"
Some might argue at least he cared enough to complain.
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| Dec 20, 2001
As tiresome as ruminating over all of the Rockets' problems has become, it might be better to examine the failings of the Los Angeles Lakers.
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| Dec 19, 2001
NEW YORK -- Injured Rockets guard Steve Francis is second among Western Conference guards in fan balloting for the NBA All-Star Game.
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| Dec 19, 2001
If it had to happen, it's good it happened now.
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| Dec 19, 2001
And the hits keep rolling in.
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| Dec 18, 2001
Glen Rice was put on the injured list, reports Clutchcity.
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| Dec 18, 2001
Larry Costello was one of those guys who coached in a T-shirt.
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| Dec 18, 2001
Agents of Steve Francis issued on his behalf a written statement denying that he was driving while intoxicated.
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| Dec 18, 2001
Already short Stever Francis, Maurice Taylor, and Glen Rice, the Rockets will play without Kenny Thomas tonight with a sprained wrist.
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| Dec 18, 2001
This was it.
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| Dec 17, 2001
What else can happen to the hapless Rockets?
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| Dec 16, 2001
This was not one of those mark-your-calendar sort of games.
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| Dec 15, 2001
Formerly linked be greatness -- once meeting in the NBA Finals in 1994 -- Rudy Tomjanovich and Pat Riley now have losing in common.
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| Dec 15, 2001
Cuttino Mobley will probably be getting a letter from the NBA today informing him of a fine for comments made following the Rockets' 108-106 overtime loss at Indiana on Thursday.
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| Dec 15, 2001
After being suspended five games for a vioaltion of the league's anti-drug program, Rocket Maurice Taylor admitted it was for marijuana use, according to W.
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| Dec 15, 2001
Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich is "shocked" and "heartbroken" to see Hakeem Olajuwon rip the coach and organization over the way his departure was handled.
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| Dec 14, 2001
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports on the fallout from Hakeem Olajuwon's comments on the Rockets yesterday.
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| Dec 14, 2001
Maurice Taylor has been suspended five games for violating the league's anti-drug program, reports the AP.
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| Dec 14, 2001
The streak knows no end.
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| Dec 14, 2001
After a heartbreaker in Indiana, Cuttino Mobley tore into referee Pat Fraher according to Clutchcity.
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| Dec 14, 2001
The Indiana Pacers have had their share of games this season where they complained about the officiating.
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| Dec 14, 2001
Who was that guy who scored a team-high 24 points for the Houston Rockets but missed a 3-point shot in overtime that could have beaten the Indiana Pacers at the buzzer Thursday night?
He was rookie Oscar Torres, the NBA's first Venezuelan-born player.
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| Dec 13, 2001
Robinson made the most of his reprieve, Bruce Bowen checked Carter — at least until Carter checked out — and Tim Duncan scored 28 points as the Spurs blitzed the Raptors 108-95 before 16,650 at the Alamodome to secure their best start in franchise history.
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| Dec 13, 2001
Despite shooting 30% and averaging 4 points a game, the Rockets are happy with the progress of rookie Eddie Griffin.
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| Dec 13, 2001
Toronto Raptors centre Hakeem Olajuwon criticized the Houston Rockets, his team for 17 seasons, on his first trip to Texas since being traded away this summer.
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| Dec 12, 2001
When it pains, it pours.
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| Dec 12, 2001
It looked very bad, as the Cavaliers were in the midst of blowing an 18-point lead and their star guard was being helped off the court with a separated shoulder.
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| Dec 12, 2001
Cavaliers assistant coach Keith Smart tried to use every trick or advantage to help his players get NBA attention when he was a CBA head coach in Fort Wayne.
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| Dec 12, 2001
Early in the season, Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich called Cavaliers
coach John Lucas, a former teammate of his on the Rockets.
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| Dec 12, 2001
SURPRISES
·LA Clippers -- The perennial punch lines are talented and over .
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| Dec 12, 2001
Like pledges to a fraternity taking initiation swats -- thank you, sir; may I have another? -- they were blown out by the Cavaliers early, came back and then lost again, eventually falling 107-102 for their 11th consecutive defeat.
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| Dec 11, 2001
Tip-off: 8:30 tonight at Compaq Center, Houston.
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| Dec 11, 2001
Houston
- The Houston Rockets are in the midst of the longest current losing streak in the NBA at 10 games, but that's only a footnote to how much Moochie Norris has overcome in his career.
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| Dec 11, 2001
John Lucas, the former president of the Westside Tennis Center and a former Rocket, fits the theme tonight as he returns to Compaq Center for the first time as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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| Dec 10, 2001
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes that, as bad as the Rockets are, a trade isn't the solution.
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| Dec 10, 2001
There are no quick solutions.
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| Dec 9, 2001
There are only 29 of them, so unless someone is an NBA head coach or once held that job, it's hard to explain what the stress, the pressures and the demands of the position can do to a fellow.
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| Dec 8, 2001
With Steve Francis out and in the midst of a now 8-game losing streak, Rudy Tomjanovich has been working out ways to put more of the offensive load on Cuttino Mobley's shoulders, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
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| Dec 8, 2001
MRI results on Glen Rice's sore right knee have delivered bad news, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
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| Dec 7, 2001
Thursday night was different.
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| Dec 7, 2001
Rockets team physician Walter Lowe announced the Rockets will be without the services of starting small forward Glen Rice for at least the next two weeks, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
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| Dec 7, 2001
It's gotten so bad it's comical.
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| Dec 5, 2001
The Air isn't out of the Rockets' party yet.
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| Dec 5, 2001
To get this low, the Rockets had to hit rock bottom -- and keep on digging.
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| Dec 4, 2001
With his shooting eye back at least for the night, Rice loved the look he got -- a 3 from the corner -- until it rimmed out.
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| Dec 3, 2001
Michael Murphy writes for The Sporting News that the Rockets will have a tough time without franchise player Steve Francis.
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| Dec 3, 2001
Jonathan Feigen does a piece on ex-Rocket Shandon Anderson for the Houston Chronicle.
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| Dec 3, 2001
Saturday night, the Rockets fell behind 17-2 to start the game, shot an abysmal 35% from the floor, yet still found themselves down just one to San Antonio midway through the fourth quarter.
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| Dec 1, 2001
Scottie Pippen has never been the same player since two discs popped out of his back during the 1998 season, which is good news for the Bulls - who didn't sign him to a big contract, and bad news for Houston and Portland who have paid for his success in Chicago.
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| Dec 1, 2001
Jason Williams shot 36 percent from the floor and 31 percent from the three point line leading up to tonight's game against the Rockets.
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