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Adelman collects win No. 800 in victory over Kings
Houston 108, Sacramento 100
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- During his first coaching stint in the NBA, Rick Adelman never imagined that he would last long in the league.
He wasn't even sure if he'd make it past his first season.
"I didn't really consider even being a coach in the pros," Adelman said. "After my first stint, taking over halfway through (the 1988-89 season in Portland) and barely squeaking out a playoff situation, I never dreamed it."
Two decades later, Adelman has joined some elite company.
Before another packed house at Toyota Center, the coaching veteran collected his 800th career win Monday night by guiding the Rockets to a 108-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
The Rockets (48-33) moved back into third place in the Western Conference with the win and inched within a 1/2-game of the conference-leading New Orleans Hornets.
Adelman, who won 395 games with the Kings from 1998-2006, became the 13th coach in NBA history to reach the milestone.
Not bad for a coach who didn't think he was going to be in the league long after a rocky first season in Portland.
"He's a Hall of Famer," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "We all really enjoy playing for Coach Adelman. He's a great coach and a better person. We're really happy for his success. We want to win some games for him because he is that good of a coach. He's coached some great teams and shown that he can win with multiple teams and multiple players. Not every coach can do that."
Ultimately, it was a point guard and -- of all things -- some solid free-throw shooting that elevated Adelman into the 800-win club.
Rafer Alston, who was coming off a tough road trip, netted a game-high 28 points and swished a trio of three-pointers to pick up the scoring slack on an off-night for Tracy McGrady. McGrady had 17 points after shooting 5-of-16 from the field.
The Rockets took care of the rest from the stripe. Even though they entered the game 27th in the league in free-throw shooting, Houston knocked down 33 of 42 attempts from the foul line. With that effort, the Rockets established new season highs for free throws made and attempted.
"It means a lot," Alston said. "We know that going forward, if we make the playoffs, most games will come down to two, three or four point games. Usually, you look at turnovers or bad possessions or bad shots. But you also look at the free throw line and free throw percentages to see where that game could have been won or lost. (On Monday), we went to the line and made some free throws. We made more than we had been down the stretch and that sealed the victory."
The Rockets seemed to be in control of the game throughout the second half, but couldn't shake the Kings until the late stages of the fourth quarter.
Francisco Garcia and John Salmons kept Sacramento within striking distance by combining for 25 points off the bench in the second half. With an off-balance drive by Ron Artest, the Kings were able to reduce Houston's lead to 91-89 with 3:55 remaining.
That's when the Rockets turned the game into a free-throw shooting contest.
Carl Landry sank a free throw to complete a three-point play and Alston followed that with two more points from the stripe after drawing contact in the paint. Less than a minute later, Alston swished a runner to cap off a brief spurt that gave Houston a 97-89 lead.
Over the final two minutes, the Rockets never allowed the Kings to pull closer than four points. They made nine of their last 12 free throws to secure the win.
"We're not the biggest team and we don't have a huge post presence so anytime we can get to the line 42 times, that's going to weather a lot of bad shooting nights," Battier said.
When it was over, players from both the Rockets and Kings congradulated Adelman on reaching another milestone in his coaching career.
Considering the start that he had to his career, the Rockets coach appreciated his achievement.
"I know that when you hit something like that, you really think about all the good things that happen to you," Adelman said. "I have been really fortunate to have three different teams that are very, very good and that's why you get wins like that."
