Heat center's calls motivate Rocket against Mavericks, Spurs
By MEGAN MANFULL
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
The Rockets may need to consider adding Shaquille O'Neal to their payroll. Not as a player, but as a consultant. He would be paid simply to call and criticize his buddy, Tracy McGrady, before every game.
So far, O'Neal has made that phone call twice. The first time was before the Dallas game Dec. 2. Guard Tyronn Lue gave McGrady a message that the Miami Heat center said McGrady should step up his game. That night, McGrady had a season-high 48 points.
The second time was before the San Antonio game Thursday night. McGrady hadn't scored more than 18 points in either of the two games since his 48-point outburst. O'Neal, a teammate of Lue's in Los Angeles, called Lue again and told him to tell McGrady to wake up.
As O'Neal watched the nationally televised game, it was evident his message had reached McGrady. The Rockets' star orchestrated a stunning comeback by scoring 13 points in the final 35 seconds to give the Rockets an 81-80 victory over the Spurs.
The Rockets became the first team to overcome a double-digit deficit in the final minute and win since Dallas registered a 104-97 overtime win over Chicago on March 12, 1998.
Big brother's watching
Amid the postgame jubilation, McGrady couldn't help but think of O'Neal.
"After the game, he was definitely in the back of my mind," McGrady said. "I was definitely going to call him and ask him if he saw the game. He knows how I play. He's watched me. He's like my big brother. And he told Ty Lue to tell me to stop playing ?I don't want to say it on camera ?but to stop playing like a girl.
"I talked to him last night, and he was all excited because he was watching the game. He was saying, 'That's what I'm talking about. You should have been doing that.' "
McGrady stayed up until 4 a.m. Friday fielding calls from friends, family and fellow NBA players. He also watched the replay of his performance over and over.
By Friday afternoon, however, McGrady had shifted his focus. He smiled and shrugged when asked if everything from Thursday night had sunk in.
"I understand what I did last night, but I don't get over-excited about things like that," he said. "I just move on. It was great.
"It was a great individual performance. But at the same time, we are still below .500. When you're below .500 like that, it kind of takes away from what happened last night. But I also think something positive can come out of it, and it can be the start of a new beginning for this team."
That's what the rest of his teammates hope, too. They are at a critical point in the season, spending almost the entire month of December at home. The Rockets have won the first three games of the homestand and have another important game tonight against the Mavericks.
Houston and Dallas met last week, with Dirk Nowitzki outdueling McGrady by scoring 53 points in the Mavericks' 113-106 overtime victory.
McDyess was formidable, even then (I think that was his rookie or soph year)-- as good as Amare offensively when he got the touches, MUCH better than Amare defensively. McDyess would have been one of the top 3 PF's in the league by now if it weren't for the injuries.
) I have a Bulls/Suns game on tape from '97 where Kidd and KJ are swapped in and out, and sometimes play the backcourt together. <cue DM's "it's a trap!" jpeg> 
