Rockets Blast Off In November Yet Again
The Houston Rockets wish every month were November.
They have had terrific starts in the four years they have begun the season with Rudy Tomjanovich as coach, going 41-6 during the month.
The Rockets and Chicago Bulls entered this week the only unbeaten teams in the NBA, with four of Houston’s six wins coming on the road.
In 1993, Tomjanovich’s first full season behind the bench, Houston started the year 15-0. In 1994, the team was 9-0, then 6-0 last year.
As usual, the key player in Houston’s success has been Hakeem Olajuwon, who was named NBA player of the week after taking the league’s scoring lead at 28.7 points a game. He scored 38 in Saturday’s victory over Utah.
Olajuwon, however, certainly will not be at full strength and may not even play at all in tonight’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
He made a trip to a hospital after experiencing a sore back Sunday but X-rays showed no fractures. He had the tests after the left side of his back began hurting the day taking an elbow from Utah’s John Stockton.
Also on the injury front, Gheorghe Muresan is back. After missing the first five games because of a hip flexor injury, the 7-foot-7 center has been activated off the injured list and will start for the Washington Bullets tonight against the Detroit Pistons.
Monday’s highlights
Dale Ellis scored 37 points and Denver shot 58.2 percent from the floor to win at Toronto, 104-93.
Rookie Marcus Camby, making his first start as a pro, scored 10 consecutive Toronto points in the third quarter and finished with a personal best of 26 points.
Michael Jordan scored 26 points, Dennis Rodman pulled down 22 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls remained unbeaten through seven games by defeating the winless Phoenix Suns 97-79 in Chicago.
A damaged floor at the Delta Center was deemed unsafe and forced the postponement of Monday night’s game between the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
Dozens of seams in the floor rose as much as 1/8th of an inch above the surface, a problem largely blamed on the ice surface beneath.
It has been rescheduled for Dec. 15.