--Rockets guard Aaron Brooks did not want to say anything negative about officiating, especially the way things turned out, but he was fuming during the game. After, he said he was "getting bumped" and left it at that. But he could not say much. With the game on the line in the final seconds, he drove to a pull-up jumper, drew a foul and gave the Rockets the win with two free throws with 2.1 seconds left. "The officiating was great," Brooks said. "The ref stepped up and made a great call, righted all wrongs."
--The Rockets moved to 5-0 in the second half of back-to-backs with their second win against the Warriors in the second game of back-to-backs. This one, however, was unlike the others.
The latest win in a back-to-back's second game was the first that came a day after a win.
For the first time this season, they won the first game when playing two in two nights, beating the Clippers on Wednesday.
"I think we responded pretty good," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "A lot of times, we lost that first game. We don't want to get ourselves in a hole. I think our guys have responded. We're a fairly young team. That helps, too. We're trying to prove ourselves. We don't have the luxury of taking nights off."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Trevor (Ariza) and I almost got into fisticuffs at breakfast over who had to guard (Monta Ellis). Neither of us really wanted to guard him (Thursday night). I thank Trevor for taking the lion's share in the second half. He's playing well. He's really, really tough and really aggressive and never stops attacking. I evoked my captaincy, my elder statesmanship and my shot-blocking clout to delegate the defensive duties." -- Shane Battier.
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