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Yao slams one home after a quick baseline spin move on Seattle's Predrag Drobnjak at the 7:25 mark of the first quarter Saturday night. The Rockets defeated the SuperSonics 101-86 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. (AP photo)

1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
11:46	Assist	Eddie Griffin dumps a pass to Yao who is positioned in the middle of the paint, a couple steps under the free throw line. Almost immediately as Yao catches the pass, SuperSonics guard Brent Barry zooms in from the right elbow and double-teams Yao. Without hesitation, Yao kicks the ball out to Barry's man, Steve Francis. Stevie dribbles a couple of steps to the top of the key behind a screen set by Yao, and that's all Francis needs to drain an 18-footer! The Rockets lead 2-0.
9:59	Assist	Directly under the Rocket logo on the left side, Yao posts up Sonics center Predrag Drobnjak. As Yao works his way to the edge of the lane, Sonics forward Reggie Evans sneaks over from the top of the lane and takes a swipe at the ball as Yao dribbles it. Just as Evans swipes, Yao holds the ball over his head, turns to the middle and fires a cross-court pass to Francis on the opposite side of the court behind the arc. Franchise launches the trey and it falls! That's Yao's second assist, and we are ecstatic to see the offense flowing through Yao! The Rockets lead 8-4.
7:39	Intimidation	Just below the left elbow of the lane, Predrag Drobnjak backs his way inside on Eddie Griffin and makes a drop step to the baseline for a left-handed layup attempt. But Drobnjak doesn't realize that Yao has been tracking his move. As Drobnjak turns and attempts to lay it in, he has to deal with both Eddie Griffin skying high for the block, and Yao, who is setting his feet for the block! As a result, Drobnjak tries to compensate by shooting it with a higher-than-normal arc, but he ends up bricking hard off the glass!
7:25		On the Rockets' logo on the left side, Yao catches a post-entry pass from James Posey. Yao holds the ball for a second, then quickly spins baseline on Predrag Drobnjak leaving him behind, and throws down a DEFIANT ONE-HANDED JAM! Yao scores his first two points (1-for-2 from the field) and the Rockets lead 14-6. Sonics TV analyst Billy McKinney comments, "That's an impressive move for a man at 7'5". Very agile!"
4:23		From the top of the three-point line, Eddie Griffin passes a perfect lob to Yao over Predrag Drobnjak. Yao catches the pass right under the hoop, elevates, and SNAPS IT DOWN WITH A TWO-HANDED JAM! Great entry pass by Eddie Griffin! Yao now has 4 points on 2-for-3 shooting and the Rockets lead 18-12.
3:18		Yao checks out a bit early for Kelvin Cato. The Sonics have gone on a small 5-0 run, and they only trail by a point, 18-17.
0:00		With only 3.1 seconds left in the quarter from the top of the 3-point line, Steve Francis crosses over to his left behind a screen set by Eddie Griffin. With Sonics center Jerome James defending him, Francis easily speeds his way around James, cuts into the lane from the left side, launches himself about 7 feet from the hoop, and THROWS DOWN A SWEEPING TOMAHAWK DUNK with only 0.1 seconds left on the clock! The Houston crowd goes crazy! Awesome way to end the first quarter!
2nd quarter - The Rockets start the game off hot, hitting their first 5 shots. Although the Sonics come back strong later in the first (even leading the Rockets by a point at one time), the Rockets were able to fend them off thanks to the play of Steve Francis, who led the Rockets with 13 points (5-for-7 from the field, 2-for-2 from the line) and 2 assists. After one quarter of play, Yao has 4 points on 2-for-3 shooting. The Rockets lead 27-23. Cato starts the second quarter.
Halftime - The old veteran Glen Rice was the stud in the second quarter, scoring 13 points on an amazing 5-for-7 shooting (3-for-4 from three-point land). Although the Rockets led by as much as 10 points in the second quarter, they failed to close out the half with a strong defensive effort, and the Sonics end up going on an 8-0 run to finish the quarter. As a result, the Rockets only lead 50-48. With the current playoff situation, the Rockets can no longer afford to lose a SINGLE game. So when acting coach Larry Smith sits Yao for the entire second quarter, we are totally puzzled. Yao showed his effectiveness in the first quarter with a high field goal percentage (2-for-3), 2 assists, and 2 steals. We can only imagine what the score would be if Yao was allowed to have ample playing time in the second quarter.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the third quarter.
10:40		In his favorite spot on the left side just below the Rockets logo, Yao catches a pass from James Posey, then dribbles to the middle of the lane and lofts a beautiful sweeping hook shot over Predrag Drobnjak! All Drobnjak can do is turn around and watch the ball fall through the cylinder! Yao has hit his last three shots, and now has 6 points on 3-for-4 shooting. The Supersonics trail 54-48.
10:23		Drobnjak penetrates down the left side of the lane where Yao meets him head-on. Eddie Griffin also rotates over to cover Drobnjak from the backside. With two towers between him, Drobnjak pump fakes once, shoots, and bricks another shot of the glass without touching the rim! Although the replay showed that Yao didn't get a hand on the ball, it was officially recorded as a block.
8:36	+ Intimidation	Steve Francis passes to Yao at the bottom of the Rocket's logo on the left side. Yao palms the ball with his right hand as he patiently waits for Francis to cut through the middle and clear out space. With Francis out of the picture, Yao turns to face the basket, shoots a low-trajectory 20-foot fallaway and HITS NOTHING BUT NYLON!!! What a beauty! Yao tumbles to the floor after the shot due to a push to the mid-section by Drobnjak while Yao was in mid-air! We can't believe no foul was called!!! Without a word of complaint to the officials, Yao picks himself up and hustles his way down the defensive end of the court. As Sonics' sharpshooter Ray Allen drives down the left wing, Yao cuts off Allen's path to the basket and forces him to take a baseline jumper over Yao's outstretched hand that hits the side of the backboard! The Rockets regain possession, fastbreak down the court, and James Posey scores on a beautiful spin and reverse layup off the glass! This caps off a 10-3 run by the Rockets and Seattle is forced to call a timeout! The Rockets lead 60-51.
5:26	Intimidation	Sonics forward Rashard Lewis dribbles down the left side of the lane on James Posey and reverse-spins away from him just a couple of feet in front of the basket. But as Lewis turns to the hoop for the layup, out of nowhere a 7'5" behemoth is there to greet him and takes a huge swing at the shot. As a result, Lewis is forced to alter the trajectory of his shot, and it misses hard off the glass!
4th quarter - The Rockets opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run, and this time their defense was able to shut down the Sonics, and the Rockets outscored them 33-16 in the third. Yao now has 8 points on 4-for-6 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. The Rockets lead 83-64.
		Yao starts the fourth quarter!
11:22	Free Throws	On a 4-on-3 Rockets fastbreak, Yao crosses the free throw line in full stride, and Francis hits him with a pass. Yao catches it, takes two steps, and goes in for the one-handed dunk, but Jerome James hits Yao accidentally on the face as Yao rose to the rim. James is whistled for the shooting foul while Yao holds his mouth in obvious pain. But Yao regains his composure, steps to the line and knocks down both free throws! Yao has 10 points and the Rockets lead 85-64.
11:05		Cato checks in for Yao. Throughout the rest of the fourth quarter, the Rockets maintain a comfortable lead and Yao sits out the remainder of the fourth.
0:00		In a must win scenario, the Rockets beat the Supersonics 101-86. Yao ends the game with 10 points (4-for-6 from the field, 2-for-2 from the line), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. With the Phoenix Sun's victory Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, the Rockets remain 2 1/2 games behind the Suns for the eighth and final seed of the Western Conference playoffs.