McGrady sinks Sonics

SEATTLE – Tracy McGrady took over down the stretch, scoring 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and the Houston Rockets won their fifth straight, 104-98 over the Seattle SuperSonics on Thursday night.
A night after playing nearly 46 minutes in an overtime win at Golden State, McGrady played all but 18 seconds as the Rockets improved to 4-0 on their six-game road trip. It was Houston’s first win after going 0-4 in the second game of a back-to-back.
Yao Ming added 26 points and 10 rebounds and made 12 of 15 free throws. He made his first four shots and was 7 for 10 from the field.
Ray Allen led Seattle with 30 points but couldn’t match McGrady in the closing moments as Seattle lost its fourth straight at home. It’s the Sonics’ longest home losing streak since the 2003-04 season.
The Rockets are rolling since the return of McGrady, who missed eight losses because of back spasms. Houston has lost just once since his return.
Seattle held an 88-84 lead with less than 6 minutes left.
Yao was called for an offensive foul on Danny Fortson and was given a technical for slamming the ball. Allen’s free throw put Seattle up 88-84.
McGrady then took over as Houston scored nine of the next 11 points.
Weiss defends Fortson
Danny Fortson was extremely appreciative of coach Bob Weiss‘ support in Tuesday’s loss to Golden State. Weiss was ejected in the fourth quarter arguing calls against Fortson. Weiss also called the league office about Fortson. “That was really cool,” said Fortson, who added he wasn’t sure if former coach Nate McMillan would have gone to that extent.