VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE

FRAN BLINEBURY, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

If an octopus had hands, there still wouldn’t be enough fingers to point at all that went wrong with the Rockets this time. No breakdowns in the final minute. Just a train wreck from the opening quarter. No game that got away. Just a team that never showed up.

No offense.

No defense.

No chance.

No Scottie Pippen.

Now no margin for error after the 110-98 thumping by the Lakers on Tuesday night that was never that close.

The last four minutes of this one found a lineup of Sam Mack, Brent Price, Othella Harrington, Matt Bullard and Stanley Roberts on the floor for the Rockets.

Any questions?

Just one: Why even bother?

On a night when he had something to prove, Pippen scored only three points.

In a game when he had a reason to be inspired, Pippen was limp, taking seven shots and missing every one.

It was supposed to be a night for redemption, a time to show that the final horrific minute to Game 1 hadn’t left the Rockets physically spent from a very good effort that still wasn’t good enough and emotionally fractured from Pippen’s comments that were seen by most as selling out his teammate and good buddy Charles Barkley.

“The way it came out was that I was throwing rocks at Charles and that’s not what I was doing at all,” Pippen said. “I still don’t think it was a very smart play to foul Shaq with 28 seconds left. I’m a grown man and I’m entitled to my opinion. All I was doing was giving my opinion on that one play.”