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PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE Thursday, January 15, 1998 Rockets looking for recovery By MICHAEL A. LUTZ / AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) -- The injured and grumbling Houston Rockets are so starved for any positive sign of a turnaround, they'll even take a victory over lowly Dallas as a signal of better times. But it's going to take more than beating the young Mavericks (6-31) to get the Rockets back on track. After trailing by 10 points in the first half, the Rockets, playing without three starters, finally subdued the Mavericks 100-87 Tuesday night, sending positive vibes throughout the locker room. "Our defense is coming around and that's something that's been missing for the last couple of weeks. We need that every night," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. The Rockets still have a 6-10 record over their last 16 games, including a one-point overtime victory over Denver, which has won just two games all season. "I wish I knew that it would be a spark," Tomjanovich said. "I just know that (beating Dallas) was a big positive and we've got to build on it. Defense is always going to be our key." All five Rockets starters have been sidelined with injuries at one time this season and the more games they lose, the more talk emerges about a rift between Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler. "All this stuff you hear about bickering will disappear when we start winning," center Kevin Willis said. "When you lose, things like that get magnified about 10 times the actual size of the problem. "If we are losing, Clyde and Charles aren't the cause of all that's going on with this team." The Rockets have fallen five games behind Utah in the Midwest Division and they are only percentage points ahead of Minnesota, which enters Friday's game with the best 10-game stretch (8-2) in its history. Houston has a 2-10 combined record against their top Western Conference rivals, Seattle, Utah, Portland, Phoenix, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers. Injuries have been a major factor in the Rockets' slide, headlined by Hakeem Olajuwon, who is recovering from knee surgery and won't return until after next month's All-Star break. Barkley returned Tuesday night after missing two games with a hematoma in his right foot, Drexler is out with a sore right elbow. Guard Matt Maloney, who had never missed a game because of injury, has missed two games with a sore right elbow. The other starter, Mario Elie, missed one game with a bruised right wrist. Houston's starters have missed a combined 33 games this season. It's not going to get any easier. After Friday, the Rockets play at Chicago on Sunday and host Seattle on Monday. The stretch will include seven games in 10 days. "We don't have our full complement of players," Barkley said. "We don't have easy games even when we have everybody healthy." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1998, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:

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