284. Shaking down McGrady, key score!_3

The Bobcats played the Rockets and scored a 4-0 run, bringing the score to 38-30, stretching the lead to 8 points. The Rockets, who had fought hard to reduce the deficit to 3 points earlier in the half, returned from the timeout only to have Zhang Yang and Okafor erode that lead with their individual skills and pull ahead by an additional point!

In the remaining time of the first half, the Bobcats scored another 10 points while the Rockets managed only 8.

By the end of the half, the score reached 48-38, with the Bobcats outscoring the Rockets 23-20 in the second quarter, expanding their lead to 10 points!

Into the third quarter, the two teams fought back and forth... both struggling to score.

Under the Rockets' high-intensity defense, the Bobcats' shooting cooled off after the halftime break.

However, the Rockets didn't fare much better. Thibodeau rotated McGrady's four guard partners—David Wesley, Mike James, McInnis, and Alston—throughout, but none could make their shots.