Empty the Bench

Don’t be fooled by Andrei Kirilenko’s decidedly modest boxscore from his team’s Monday night win over the Houston Rockets, a win that essentially ended the series.

If you missed the game, didn’t see any highlights, and just picked up the paper this morning to check out the stats, you might look at the former All-Star’s stats and think he had an off night. In 34 minutes, the lanky Russian was 1-8 FG for just 3 points along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Nothing spectacular, right?

Ask Tracy McGrady how well Kirilenko played. Actually, maybe he’s not the best person to consult: T-Mac is still fuming over what he perceived was a flop late in the game that basically sealed Houston’s fate:

After Williams missed a driving layup, Houston’s Bobby Jackson hit a 3-pointer that would have tied the game but Scola was called for an offensive foul away from the ball when he pushed Andrei Kirilenko.

McGrady blasted official Tony Brothers for the call and accused Kirilenko of exaggerating the contact. “You can’t call that,” he said. “I like Tony Brothers, but that was a bad call. Very, very bad call. Three points down, crucial point in the game and Kirilenko flops. He flops and you call a foul on that? It was a bad call.”

Whether AK-47 flopped or not is up for discussion (if T-Mac thinks that was bad, imagine if he was playing the Suns or Spurs), but either way one questionable play and a little post-game sour grapes shouldn’t take anything away from Kirilenko’s relentless, nagging, irritating defense all night long. Sure, McGrady scored 23 points and came within an assist of a triple-double, but very little of his offensive production came easy. It seemed like every time McGrady tried to drive to the hole in a half-court set, Kirilenko was there swarming his arms, moving his feet, and making life difficult for the seven-time All Star.

Luis Scola, Andrei Kirilenko Photo Credit: Icon SMI

One possession late in the fourth quarter stands out: with the final outcome still very much in the balance, McGrady brought the ball up while his Rockets teammates basically set up on the opposite side of the court to allow their scoring star room to work. He dribbled left, he crossed over to the right, he tried a little shake and bake—Kirilenko didn’t flinch. The shot clock continued ticking down. McGrady tried once more to lose his defender. No luck. Finally, with less than 5 seconds left on the clock, McGrady had no choice but to defer to Bobby Jackson, who rushed a contested triple that clanged harmlessly off the back of the rim.

That was another nail in Houston’s coffin. The Kirilenko-induced offensive foul call on Scola shortly after was the final one. Utah now has a stranglehold on this series, and in all likelihood are poised for a sweep. A lot of the credit goes to the magnificent Deron Williams, his pair of talented bigs in Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer, the deep and effective bench, and of course Jerry Sloan and his coaching staff. But though his boxscore may not reveal it, Andrei Kirilenko has had as much impact against the Rockets as any of his teammates.

Tags: Andrei Kirilenko, Tracy McGrady, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets

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