Cassell and Horry: Sam I am, Robert, and Chucky returned to cheers in a memorial reunion for the ages. Cassell led the way with 25 points while the disgruntled phenomena from Alabama put in just 4 points from the bench. Banged with a T, the pouty and lifeless Chucky did not score in his 5 minutes, and guess who else was there? Yes sir, Steve Nash, coming off the bench. Barkley had 20 and 16 boards. Rockets 115 Hooked on Phonix 105 Sean Elliot: Something was wrong with Elliott and no one wanted to say what it was, but on the night of his return and with braces on both knees, Sean played like a pansy. For his lackluster effort, there were 4 points on 22% from the field. The ball was retrieved by a rental security guard and hand delivered to Sean’s house in Detroit. Charles Jones, David Wood, and Pete Chilcutt sat cold and dead on the plastic folding chairs we sat out for them, heart healthy and with overbites, wearing those butt fugly Piston’s uniforms and coughing up street fog from behind the white line. Live on. Rockets 106 Pistons 88 Rodney McCray: Rodney McCray returns to Compaq with his new sea blue and red Sacramento jersey and racks up a career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds. Hands came together and clapped as McCray received a standing ovation from the Rockets crowd. Kenny Smith was there, slicing his way to 21 points and 11 assists. Otis had 18 and 18 as a parting gift. Don’t get your hair cut in a flowbee for crises sake. Rockets 129 Kings 127 Hakeem Olajuwon: Old and weathered by time, the legendary center was bogged down in the mud and rolled along like a dead turtle to the tally of 7 points and 7 rebounds. A shell of his former self, the Rockets fans gave him a standing O, and then sat back down in the warmth of their suede seats, argyle sweaters, and smoking pipes. Like a bruised banana in the hands of a frizzly bear, we all left an oozy revenant of our former selves. Rockets 112 Raptors 109 Ralph Sampson: Ralphy was triple dawg dared on this night, and responded by licking the post with a lofty 8 point and 8 rebounds. Larry Smith was in attendance and lobbed up 12 rebounds and a pair of tennis shoes. Dave Feitl, yep, that guy, had 16 and 7 like it was his birthday or something. Crossover. Switcheroo. Joe Barry led the way with 13 points and 7 rebounds and World B. Free subbed in as a rocket at some point during the game to log a whopping 2 minutes. Leave complicated behind, and get a degree in liberal arts, not Rocket science. Rockets 121 Golden State 116 Chandler Parsons: You could spend your whole life waiting for a moment like this. Chandler Parsons got booed even by women and girl scouts. He played like a sourpuss scoring just 8 points and drizzled up a dynastic 5 fouls. This was pleasing. Preach it to the nines. Rockets 95 Dallass 92 T-Mac: This was our point of view. To a smattering of boos and applause, and hurt like a locker on the inside, Tracy put on a stoic earing and face on the outside. Rattling in 11 points on 3 for 6 with a classic Tracy jumper for the half beating hearts. The lights were just about to go down. Nighty night. Rockets 97 Detroit 83 Steve Francis, Kelvin Cato, and Chris Jent: Unhappy in his new home, and preferring to stay bedside with Yao, the franchise returned to lead Orlando with 23 points on 36% from the field. Cato didn’t comment on anything, or any place, going transparent and quiet on the Magic the entire season, but put in 11 points with 6 rebounds for goodness sake. Dwight was there too, 4 points in 30 minutes to demonstrate what the eminent future would look like. The moxy of an aging rocking chair was on display. Forecast, rain. Rockets 89 Orlando 78 Dwight Howard: Exchanging hugs and hats, Dwight played like a monster dunking 7 times and putting in an atrocious 24 points and 23 rebounds. Houston played like a happier crew, but the game was marred by Hardaway’s 23 points, all in the freaking 4th quarter, and then too by the Falcons being in town for their own legendary superbowl disaster. Losing builds more character than winning. It's true at the carwash. Hawks 113 Rockets 108 Otis Thorpe: OT racked it up with 14 boards and a sloppy 11 points as a reserve in his return. Bass pro shops took all his money and his game. Drexler was masterful with 23-9-6. Wander wisely my friends and when your done, drop a trout like a bear in salmon season. Rockets 122 Portland 99
