There are a few players in the Rockets starting lineup that can be expected to have big scoring games every time they step onto the field. If Kevin Martin and Louis Scola put up 30+, it definitely catches your eye, but I don't think anyone is particularly shocked.
A slightly more surprising result is when those two players combine for just 23 points on 6-of-21 shooting, and the Rockets still beat a good team by 19. Fourteen 3-pointers certainly helped, but the Dream Shake is ready to give a lot of the credit to the bench.
"Battier & The Bench" - normally nothing more than a sideshow act - carried the Rockets, as Chase Budinger, Aaron Brooks and Battier, who finished a perfect 7-7 from the field, each pitched in to make up for subpar shooting nights from Kevin Martin and Luis Scola. These types of wins might be my favorite: those that involve the stars taking a backseat. These types of wins need to appear every so often in order to remind the team of its should-be balanced nature.
Four players came in off the bench to score in double figures, led by Courtney Lee with 22. It's hard for another team to win when the second line of their opposition lights them up that badly. Last night was a full team effort for the Rockets.