2004–05 Houston Rockets season

The 2004-05 NBA season was the Rockets' 38th season in the NBA and 34th season in the city of Houston.^[1] The off-season was best remembered for acquiring All-Star Tracy McGrady from the Orlando Magic as well as Dikembe Mutombo from the Chicago Bulls, in whom he never played a game. With McGrady now teamed up with Yao Ming, the Rockets greatly improved, finishing the season with a 51-31 record. The Rockets made the playoffs for a second straight time, but their season ended once again in the first round, losing to their in-state rival, the Dallas Mavericks in seven games. McGrady and Yao were selected to play in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game at Denver.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club
2	55	Luis Flores (traded to Golden State)	Guard	Dominican Republic	Manhattan (Sr.)

Roster

Houston Rockets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From 5.5 !F/C 42 USA ! Baker, Vin 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Hartford 1.5 !G 20 USA ! Barry, Jon 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Georgia Tech 2.5 !G/F 40 USA ! Bowen, Ryan 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Iowa 4.0 !F 32 USA ! Braggs, Torraye 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Xavier 5.5 !F/C 5 USA ! Howard, Juwan 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Michigan 1.5 !G 13 USA ! James, Mike 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Duquesne 2.5 !G/F 1 USA ! McGrady, Tracy 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Mt. Zion Christian Academy (HS) 6.0 !C 55 DRC ! Mutombo, Dikembe 7000218440000000000♠7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Georgetown 1.5 !G 25 USA ! Norris, Moochie 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) West Florida 4.0 !F 35 USA ! Padgett, Scott 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Kentucky 1.5 !G 3 USA ! Sura, Bob 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Florida State 1.5 !G 17 USA ! Ward, Charlie 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Florida State 4.5 !PF 30 USA ! Weatherspoon, Clarence 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Southern Mississippi 1.5 !G 7 USA ! Wesley, David 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Baylor 6.0 !C 11 CHN ! Yao Ming 7000228600000000000♠7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) 310 lb (141 kg) China	Head coach Jeff Van Gundy Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Tracy McGrady: 13 points in 33 seconds

One notable game during the season was the Rockets' December 9 matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. In the fourth quarter, at 44 seconds left, the score was 76-68 and the Spurs had the lead. With 35 seconds remaining, Tracy McGrady made a three-pointer. Four seconds later, Devin Brown was fouled and made both of his free throws. With 24 seconds remaining, McGrady made another three-pointer. He was fouled by Tim Duncan when he shot the ball. He went to the free throw line and made a free throw, converting a four-point play. With 16 seconds remaining, Scott Padgett intentionally fouled Tim Duncan, and, because the Rockets were over the foul limit, Duncan went to the free throw line and made both of his free throws. Five seconds later, McGrady made yet another three-pointer, this time over Bruce Bowen. This left the Rockets in a two-point deficit. San Antonio took a timeout. At 7.9 seconds remaining, Brent Barry inbounded the ball to Devin Brown. McGrady stole the ball from Brown and ran to the three-point line, where he made another three-pointer, which would be the game-winning shot.^[2] The performance is considered by some^[3][4][5] to be one of McGrady's career highlights.

Season standings

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Houston Rockets

Regular season series

Both teams were tied 2–2 in the regular-season series:

Last Playoffs meeting: 1988 Western Conference First Round (Dallas won 3–1)

Player statistics

Awards and records

• Tracy McGrady, All-NBA Third Team

References

See also

• 2004-05 NBA season