Yao Ming scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and
grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 91-79 victory
over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night in Texas.
Houston Rockets' Yao Ming
(left) shoots over Toronto Raptors' Rasho Nesterovic in the fourth
quarter of their NBA basketball game on Saturday in Houston, Texas.
The Rockets won 91-79.
Rafer Alston added 18 points, and Bonzi Wells had 13 points and
11 rebounds as Houston won its second straight and third in four
games.
Tracy McGrady missed his second straight game with left knee
tendinitis.
Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 19 points. Jamario Moon and Jose
Calderon each scored 11 as Toronto lost for the fourth time in five
games.
Yao scored eight in the fourth quarter, including four straight
free throws to give Houston an 85-75 lead with 2:29 to play.
With Yao scoring nine and Alston eight in the third quarter, the
Rockets led by seven with 2:52 left in the period. But Bosh had
eight points, and Calderon and Moon five apiece to pull the Raptors
to 68-64 after three quarters.
Both teams struggled in the first quarter, with Houston hitting
only 33 percent from the field and Toronto going 7-of-24 (29
percent). They were tied at 19 heading to the second.
The game remained back and forth until Toronto went on a 9-1 run
to take a 40-34 lead with 1:36 left in the second quarter. But
Houston scored five points in the final 5 seconds on Alston's
3-pointer, and a steal and layup by Shane Battier to knot it at 40
at halftime.
In other games on Saturday, it was: Mavericks 97, Hawks 84;
Pistons 98, Pacers 92; Celtics 104, Jazz 98; Wizards 96, Heat 74;
Hornets 86, Cavaliers 76; Magic 104, Bobcats 95; Nets 97, Bucks 95;
and SuperSonics 109, Timberwolves 90.
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points, Josh Howard and Devin
Harris each had 19, and the Dallas Mavericks led throughout in a
97-84 victory that snapped Atlanta's five-game winning streak.
In Indianapolis, Richard Hamilton scored 24 points, Chauncey
Billups had 17, and Detroit beat Indiana for its eighth straight
victory.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily December 31, 2007)
