Yao Ming

Yao Ming has 32 points, 10 rebounds as Rockets top Clippers 108 103

The Houston Rockets proved to themselves that they could win a game without Tracy McGrady. The next step is tightening up their defence.

Yao Ming had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Rafer Alston added 24 points and eight assists, and the Rockets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 108-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday in their fourth game without McGrady.

The six-time all-star was scratched again because of back spasms. Luther Head, making his fourth straight start in McGrady's absence, scored 14 points in 40 1-2 minutes and extended his streak to 23 consecutive games with at least one three-point basket _ tying the franchise record shared by Sleepy Floyd and Matt Maloney.

``We're trying to show that we can win games and pull games out without Tracy,'' Alston said. ``His absence has been a factor in stretches of games where we were staggering, didn't have much continuity and weren't scoring the ball. Today we were trying to stop the losing streak, No. 1, and we also needed to play better on both sides of the ball.''

The Rockets have allowed 100 or more points in five consecutive games since giving up a franchise record-low 62 points to the Charlotte Bobcats on Dec. 8. It's the longest such streak in Jeff Van Gundy's 11 seasons as an NBA head coach, including eight with the New York Knicks.

``It's just a lack of concentration on defence, along with energy and effort,'' Alston said. ``Not making the second effort has been hurting us _ letting teams get to the offensive glass on us and pound us in the paint. So we have to look at film and get back to the things we're capable of doing.''

Shaun Livingston led Los Angeles with 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Chris Kaman had 20 points and 11 boards, and Elton Brand chipped in with 19 points and nine rebounds.

The injury-plagued Clippers have dropped five of their last eight home games after starting out a franchise-best 6-0. They have dropped four straight overall and 12 of the last 14 meetings with the Rockets.

``It's a double disappointment because we're losing games and losing players. But we've just got to keep fighting and plugging away,'' Brand said. ``One of the things that's missing from last year are energy, defensive rotations, and the fire and will to win. We've got to get that back.''

Neither team led by more than five points during a 15:57 stretch, which ended when Shane Battier's three-pointer gave Houston a 54-46 advantage with 9:22 left in the third quarter. The Rockets continued to keep the Clippers at bay with their perimeter shooting, getting three three-pointers from Alston and one from Head during a five-minute span.

``It's a fine line when to double-team Yao and when not to. And they made us pay the price with some of our double teams with their three-point shooting,'' Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.

Trailing by 12 late in the third, the Clippers cut it to 100-96 as Corey Maggette scored nine of his 19 points in a 3:51 span _ including a 17-footer with 1:19 to play. But Yao responded with an eight-foot turnaround jumper, then blocked Maggette's driving layup out of bounds with 54 seconds to go.

Cuttino Mobley hit an 18-footer and Head made one of two free throws at the other end, before Maggette's layup cut Houston's lead to 103-100 with 19.5 seconds left. But Alston clinched it with four free throws in the final 14.7 seconds.

Tim Thomas started at small forward for the Clippers, but never made it out of the first quarter. He left the floor just 38 seconds after the opening tip because of a bruised left knee and returned with 5:54 left in the quarter. But less than 3 1-2 minutes later, he bruised his left elbow in a collision with Dikembe Mutombo and was knocked on his back by referee Phil Robinson while clutching his painful elbow. X-rays were negative.

Sam Cassell was scratched for the second time in three games because of a sore left heel that limited him to just 12 minutes in the Clippers' loss at Portland on Friday. Another guard, Quinton Ross, left the game with 7:48 remaining in the third quarter because of back spasms.

``It's tough times because of matchups, but I never try to put it on injuries because injuries are an opportunity for other guys to step up and get better,'' Dunleavy said. ``We were hoping that part of our strength was going to be our depth, but that has been pretty well stretched right now.''

Notes: Van Gundy was glad to be some 3,000 miles away from Saturday night's Knicks-Nuggets brawl at Madison Square Garden. When he coached New York, the Knicks engaged in a pair of postseason brawls with the Miami Heat. One of them resulted in the diminutive Van Gundy hanging onto the leg of Miami's Alonzo Mourning and getting dragged around the Garden court with 1.4 seconds left in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series in 1998, after Mourning exchanged punches with Larry Johnson. ``Unfortunately, I was involved in two of them and made a fool out of myself in one of them. So I have empathy for anybody that lost control last night,'' Van Gundy said. ``It's certainly unfortunate, but I don't see it as any indicator of trouble. It was an isolated incident. Things like that are not indicative of the state of the NBA. I don't think it has any lasting ramifications.''

Yao Ming scores 38 points to lead Rockets over Wizards 114 109

Defending Yao Ming is difficult enough without having to rely on third- and fourth-string centres against him.

Yao took advantage of Washington's injuries in the middle to score 23 of his season-high 38 points in the fourth quarter and the Houston Rockets ended the Wizards' three-game winning streak with a 114-109 victory Saturday night.

``The sting of injuries many times can't be overcome... You feel for any coach and any team that goes through injuries like that. We've gone through the same thing here,'' Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. ``You take wins any way you can get them.''

Yao was limited to 15 points through three quarters, but the Wizards finished the game without backup centre Brendan Haywood, who left in the second quarter with a left thigh bruise, and starter Etan Thomas, who exited early in the fourth with a left ankle sprain. Both are day-to-day.

``(Yao's) got an arsenal that I haven't seen before,'' Wizards coach Eddie Johnson said. ``He is equally dominating on either box.''

And with the Wizards down to James Lang and Calvin Booth to guard Yao, stopping him was nearby impossible.

``Thomas and Haywood, they are great players,'' Yao said. ``They always push me out of my position. They have a lot of defensive experience. They know how to guard a big man, post me up. When they're out, obviously, it's good for us, good for me.''

Yao grabbed 11 rebounds and had six of the Rockets' season-high 10 blocks. Houston outscored the Wizards in the paint, 42-22, and Washington's centres scored only seven points.

``That's the worst time you want to lose your centres _ against him,'' the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas added. ``It is hard.''

Tracy McGrady had 28 points for Houston before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with back spasms. Rafer Alston added 12 points for the Rockets in their fourth straight victory over Washington.

McGrady said he expected to play Tuesday at home against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Arenas shook off a ragged start to finish with 41 points for the Wizards, who were bidding for their first four-game streak since winning five straight from Feb. 4-12, 2006. Antawn Jamison added 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Caron Butler 17 points and 10 rebounds for Washington.

Yao scored Houston's first 12 points of the fourth quarter. His two free throws gave the Rockets a 92-91 lead after three foul shots by Jamison, who was fouled by Juwan Howard on a three-point attempt. Yao finished 12-for-14 from the foul line.

Booth's three-pointer with 30.7 seconds left got the Wizards within 110-109, but Yao responded with a fadeaway jumper over Booth for a three-point cushion.

Alston scored eight points in a 10-2 run early in the third period that erased Washington's 57-53 lead. Alston started and ended the burst with three-pointers; in between Yao hit a short jumper and Alston wasn't challenged on a driving layup from the right side.

McGrady took over from there, scoring 12 points in the final 7:13 of the third. Two free throws by Luther Head, who scored 12 points off the bench, gave the Rockets an 80-74 lead with 1:03 left in the quarter.

Arenas, who scored 98 points during the three-game winning streak, missed his first 10 shots of the game _ six from the floor and four from the free-throw line _ before converting a jumper on his first field-goal attempt of the second quarter for a 25-20 Washington lead.

He then hit six straight field goals, scoring 13 points in a 2:23 span and 15 consecutive points for the Wizards, who led 52-51 at halftime despite 16 points from McGrady. In between his dry spell and his strong streak, Arenas briefly left the court and ditched his white shoes for black sneakers.

Notes: Washington was whistled for three shot-clock violations in the first half. ... Houston F Chuck Hayes fouled out with 4:48 left in the third period after playing 16 minutes. ... The start of the fourth quarter was delayed nine minutes when lights in the Verizon Center rafters dimmmed but did not return to full strength. The game was restarted and the lights reached full power after 3{ minutes.

Yao Ming scores 24 points as Rockets beat cold shooting Cavs 81 63

LeBron James watched another open shot clang off the rim, then screamed as he turned and trotted down the court.

It was that kind of night for the Cleveland Cavaliers _ so bad, it almost ended up in the record books.

Yao Ming scored 24 points and the Houston Rockets overcame a mild concussion to Tracy McGrady to beat the cold-shooting Cavs 81-63 on Saturday night.

James scored 21, but was 7-for-22 from the field. Cleveland shot 28 per cent (22-for-78) as a team, flirting with its all-time worst shooting performance (23.8 per cent), set in 1970.

The Cavaliers' point total was just four points ahead of their all-time low for a game (59), set in 1997 against San Antonio.

``You shoot 28 per cent from the field, you don't have a chance to win,'' said James.

The Rockets' offence was only slightly better after McGrady took an inadvertent elbow from Dikembe Mutombo in the first quarter and did not return.

Trainer Keith Jones said after the game that McGrady was fine and didn't have to go to the hospital. Jones said McGrady would be re-evaluated on Sunday. The Rockets' next game is Tuesday against Golden State.

``He went home and he's feeling pretty good,'' said Jones. ``Tomorrow, I think he's going to feel a lot better.''

Luther Head hit three three-pointers and scored 13 for the Rockets, who've won five of their last six games and five in a row at home. Rafer Alston added 10 points and four assists and Juwan Howard grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds.

The Rockets outrebounded Cleveland 55-41, the 12th time in 16 games that Houston has won the battle of the boards.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, failed to reach 20 points in any quarter. They mustered a meagre 10 in the second quarter after missing their last 14 shots of the first half.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown praised Houston for shutting down the Cavs. After all, the Rockets came into the game with the league's top scoring defence (89 points per game).

``They keep scrambling, they keep doing what they need to do to put themselves in position defensively to win the ballgame,'' he said.

James said the Cavs should take more of the blame.

``Most of the shots we missed were good looks or shots we usually make,'' he said.

The Rockets built a 20-11 lead in the first quarter after James missed five of his first six shots with Shane Battier guarding him.

When Battier went to the bench for a rest, McGrady took his turn defending James.

McGrady got hit with Mutombo's left elbow and hit the floor as James made a drive from the corner. McGrady laid still for a minute, then got up with his hand over his face and left the game with 1:13 left in the first quarter.

During a play stoppage, James walked toward the Rockets bench and asked Houston trainer Keith Jones about McGrady's condition.

A few minutes later, McGrady tried to walk to the locker room, but looked disoriented and staggered back to the bench. Rockets forward Steve Novak and Jones eventually helped McGrady slowly walk to the locker room.

Mutombo felt guilty about the accidental blow and apologized to McGrady at halftime. McGrady reassured Mutombo by saying he felt better.

``Then, I was able to smile,'' said Mutombo.

The Rockets led 23-15 when McGrady went out and built the lead to 43-29 by the break. James went 3-for-11 in the first half and the rest of the Cavs went 7-for-27.

Yao, meanwhile, had 20 points at halftime. He also had three blocks in the first half to reach 585 in his career and tie Ralph Sampson for third on the Rockets' all-time list. He got one more block in the second half to pass Sampson.

Head and Alston hit three-pointers in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, part of a 10-2 Rockets run that extended the lead to 53-31.

The Cavaliers answered with a 10-2 spurt as the Rockets started shooting poorly, going six minutes without a field goal.

But after a Houston time out, Battier ended the drought with a post move and a three-pointer that pushed the Rockets' lead to 60-41.

The Cavs got within 14 in the fourth quarter, but never put together more than two straight baskets the rest of the way.

Notes: The Cavaliers' 29 first-half points were a season low. ... The Rockets improved to 7-1 at home. Last season, they didn't get their seventh home win until Feb. 12. ... Cleveland dropped to 4-1 against the Western Conference. Coming into the game, the Cavs were the last team from the East without a loss to the West. ... The Rockets improved to 9-1 when Yao leads them in scoring.