What Happened in Philly?

Was it just me or did the Philadelphia game last night seem like two different games? There was the first quarter when the Rockets acted like they were mailing it in and the third quarter when they looked like world-beaters.

The Houston Rockets started the game in a daze. Brooks and Ariza both seemed clumsy and out of sync. Hayes, Battier and Scola were all a step slow defensively. The Sixers' Dalembert, Iguodala and Brand, on the other hand were aggresive and hungry for a win. If it were not for the bench, the game might have gotten out of hand. Landry, Budinger and Lowry came in to spark the team to within 3 at halftime.

The game was won in the third quarter. The entire team came together and put forth a defensive effort that held the Sixers to only 13 points. Offensively, the Rockets fed off the defense, scoring 28 points, mostly off Philadelphia misses. That was a fun quarter to watch.

If there can be a goat in a win, it would be Chuck Hayes. You gotta love the guy, but he did not play well at all last night. Samuel Dalembert beat him like a bastard stepchild. Hayes scored only one point, had only four rebounds (to Dalembert's 14) and committed five fouls in just 16 minutes of play. I would not want to be Andrea Bargnani Sunday night. He's Chuck's next opponent.