Calvin Watkins, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

With sweep dreams over, Rockets look for fixes

HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets don’t have a desperate feel right now.

It has to change.

Sure, the Rockets hold a 3-1 series edge over the Dallas Mavericks heading into Tuesday’s Game 5 at home, but Houston failed to sweep its I-45 rivals in four games, losing 121-109 on Sunday night.

“We got to play better, I do know that,” coach Kevin McHale said after Monday’s film session. “We got to play with more of a sense of urgency and we got to play better. They outfought us for rebounds, they ran harder. Like I said they did everything better than we did. We got to change that around; that’s on us to do that. They will continue to play their way [and] we got to amp it up.”

The Rockets failed to stop newly inserted starting point guard J.J. Barea, who scored 17 points and had a game-high 13 assists, mainly on drives to the basket that caused the Rockets' backcourt fits.

Al-Farouq Aminu, who also moved into the starting lineup, guarded Rockets leading scorer James Harden and made the MVP candidate's 24-point effort a struggle. Harden went 5-for-11 from the field when guarded by the four-year veteran playing in his first playoff series. Harden, one of the best at drawing fouls with his drives to the basket, picked up a series-low five fouls against the Mavs in Game 4.

McHale doesn’t believe it’s too big a deal, but it seemed like Dallas was the more physical team for the first time in this series.

With 2:44 to play in the game, centers Tyson Chandler and Dwight Howard got tangled up near the basket. After Howard moved Chandler’s arm off him and had his back turned, it appeared that Chandler flung his arms out as if he were throwing a punch.

Chandler received a technical foul and the league ruled Monday that it was the correct call. Had it been deemed a punch was thrown, Chandler would have been suspended for Game 5.

Asked if the referees needed to allow play to be more physical, Howard said, “I don’t care as long as we get a chance to fight and hit back. So it really doesn’t matter to me. I understand what their goal is as far as try to get me frustrated and get me to pick up some cheap fouls and I just have to stay away from it.”

Should Chandler have been suspended if proved to have thrown a punch?

“I want him to play,” Howard said.

One of Houston's biggest issues Sunday night was shooting just 22.6 percent (7-for-31) from 3-point range. The Rockets set an NBA record for most 3-point field goals made (933) and attempted (2,680) and shot less than 25 percent from 3 just seven times in the 82-game season.

Trevor Ariza also struggled in Game 4, shooting 2-for-10 from the field.

“I haven’t done anything different,” said Ariza, who went 1–for-7 on uncontested jumpers. “I come here when I come here; you get here two-and-a-half hours early every day. Change nothing, just be more aggressive. I’ve been a little bit more passive, I think, this whole series. Just got to let the game come to me, and my teammates need me to be a little bit more aggressive offensively and I will focus on it.”

Ariza wasn’t the only Rocket misfiring; as a team, Houston shot 35.7 percent on open shots, which included Harden missing five of six attempts and Jason Terry and Pablo Prigioni going a combined 1-for-8. The Rockets need improvement in ball spacing, shot selection and rebounding.

The defensive side has to become more aggressive by attacking offensive players on the boards and in the open court. Protecting the rim is vital when the Mavs' guards drive to the basket.

If the Rockets improve on some of these things, perhaps they can close out the series Tuesday night.

“We just got to put more pressure on players and take our individual matchups with a little bit more passion,” Ariza said. “I think that’s what we have been lacking.”

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