YaoMingMania.com

Yao shoots a jump hook over Seattle's Vital Potapenko Sunday afternoon in Houston. Unfortunately, Yao's Rockets had their 5-game home winning streak snapped by the Sonics in a 97-80 defeat. Houston shot a new season-low of 34% from the field. Yao scored 14 points on 2-of-9 field goals, and was 10-of-10 from the line. To see more photos from the game, click here. (Photo courtesy AP).

1st quarter
11:23	Foul	Rashard Lewis attacks the rim and gets Yao to foul him. It actually looked like Yao blocked Lewis' shot without fouling him, but the refs didn't think so.
8:19	Assist	Yao gets the ball on the right edge of the lane, and he is immediately double-teamed. That opens up a lane for Kelvin Cato to penetrate into the lane, and YAO THROWS A NO-LOOK UNDERHAND PASS TO CATO AROUND A DEFENDER, AND CATO CATCHES IT AND LAYS IT IN! TOYOTA CENTER IS LOVING IT! The great thing about this assist is that Yao got the defense to commit further to him by dribbling the ball to make it look like he was going to position himself for a shot, which fooled them. That's the first time we have seen him do that in the low-post position. The Rockets lead 11-4.
7:35		Yao misses a right-handed hook shot in the lane. It's unusual that Yao puts up his first shot so late in the first quarter. He usually shoots in the first couple of possessions in the game. Yao is 0-for-1 from the field.
6:50		Yao misses a turnaround jump shot from the left edge of the lane. He is now 0-for-2 from the field with no points.
5:56		Yao picks up his second foul and has to check out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 11-8.
2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets trail 17-18. The Rockets only made 7-of-17 from the field, with Francis going 0-for-5. Seattle came back from an 11-2 deficit to take the lead by the end of the quarter.
7:53		Yao checks into the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. The Rockets trail 21-23.
6:49		Seattle's Vladimir Radmanovic drives down the middle of the lane and goes up for a dunk over Yao, BUT YAO JUMPS UP AND IS ABLE TO BLOCK IT! The Seattle bench goes ballistic that Yao wasn't called for a foul, though. They may have had a point.
5:10	Assist	Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the lane and throws the ball out to Jim Jackson near the top of the three-point line, and Jackson buries the two-pointer to give Yao credit for an assist! The Rockets trail 23-27.
3:54	Free Throws	On a Rockets fast break, Jim Jackson gets the ball and dishes the ball to Yao to the right of the rim. Radmanovic goes up to contest the shot, Yao pump fakes to shed him off, and then Yao puts a little layup off the glass BUT HE MISSES IT! Luckily Yao was bailed out by the ref on a foul call agasint Radmanovic, but Yao should have made the layup. After Yao misses, Jackson shows his frustration by putting both hands on his head not believing that Yao missed that shot. Yao goes the line and makes both free throws for his first points of the game, and the Rockets trail 25-29.
3:21	Free Throws	Trying to jockey for an offensive rebound, Jerome James pushes Yao out of bounds and is called for a foul. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws, and is now 4-for-4 from the line with 4 points. The Rockets trail 27-31.
2:38		Yao gets the ball a couple of feet outside the left edge of the lane. Guarded one-on-one, he pivots toward the baseline for his usual fallaway jumper along the baseline, BUT THEN PIVOTS BACK THE OTHER WAY AND LAUNCHES A 7-FOOT FALLAWAY JUMPER, AND IT'S GOOD! That's Yao's first bucket of the game. He is now 1-for-3 from the field with 6 points. The Rockets trail 29-32.
1:18		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets trail 31-35.
Halftime - At the end of the second quarter, the Rockets trail 35-41. Houston is shooting 34% from the field and the Sonics are shooting 46%. Maurice Taylor leads the Rockets in scoring with 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting. However, Steve Francis is 0-for-7 from the field. Cuttino Mobley, Jim Jackson and Eric Piatkowski are all 1-for-5 from the field. Ouch!
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
7:38		From the top of the three-point arc, Cuttino Mobley throws a pass to Yao on the left side of the lane (an unusual passing angle), and Yao immediately turns torward the baseline, pump fakes on Vitaly Potapenko, and banks it off the glass for the score! Yao is now 2-for-4 from the field with 8 points. The Rockets trail 44-52.
5:50		Yao throws up an awkard right-handed hook shot from the right side of the lane, and it misses. It looks like Potapenko was able to put a body on Yao that threw off his timing on the shot. Yao is now 3-for-5 from the field with 8 points. The Rockets trail 48-52.
4:35		Maurice Taylor throws a nice pass to Yao, who is able to catch it outside of the lane as he is turning toward the baseline. This gives him great inside position to go in for a slam, BUT YAO BLOWS IT! And he had a good grip on the basketball since he was using both hands on the dunk attempt. What gives? Yao is now 3-for-6 from the field with 8 points. The Rockets trail 49-57.
4:23		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. Seattle leads 57-49.
1:40		Yao checks back into the game. The Rockets trail 54-66.
:50.9	Free Throws	Yao is fouled by Vitaly Potapenko on the right edge of the lane. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws, and he is now 6-for-6 from the line with 10 points. The Rockets trail 57-66.
4th quarter - At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets trail 57-68. The Rockets were outscored 22-27 in the quarter. Houston shot 35% from the floor, while Seattle shot 56%
11:07	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball about 4 feet outside the left edge of the lane, then quickly spins on Vitaly Potapenko toward the baseline and is able to get by him. Yao then goes up to either lay the ball in or slam it home, BUT POTAPENKO HACKS HIM ACROSS BOTH ARMS AND SEND HIM CRASHING TO THE FLOOR! A FLAGRANT FOUL IS CALLED ON POTAPENKO, meaning Yao will go to the line for free throws, and the Rockets will retain possession. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. Now the Rockets only trail 61-68. Yao has 12 points, and is 8-for-8 from the line and 2-for-6 from the field. After Yao's free throws, Francis hits a three-pointer, so it was really a "5-point play." The Rockets are back in the game now only trailing by four points, 64-68!
8:54	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball in the lane and reverse pivots toward the basket on a strong offensive move, but he is fouled in front of the rim trying to go up for a shot. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. He now has 14 points, and is 10-for-10 from the line and 2-for-6 from the field. The Rockets trail 66-77.
8:19		Yao gets the ball on the left side of the court, faces up to the basket and shoots a long jumper, but he misses. He is now 2-for-7 from the field with 14 points.
8:01		Yao grabs an offensive rebound in front of the rim with one hand (which is impressive). He brings the ball back down and goes straight up for a point-blank shot in front of the rim, BUT HE MISSES IT! WOW, THESE SEATTLE CENTERS MUST REALLY BE MAKING YAO THINK ON HIS SHOTS TODAY. The Rockets trail 66-71. That was a big miss! Yao is now 2-for-8 from the field with 14 points.
7:25		Yao gets the ball along the right edge of the lane and pivots toward the baseline for a fallaway jumper, but he misses that one, too. It's just not Yao's day from the field today. He is now 2-for-9 from the field with 14 points. Rockets trail 66-71.
7:12		Ray Allen drives toward the hoop and tries to put up a shot, BUT YAO EASILY SWATS IT AWAY!
3:24		Since the block by Yao at the 7:12 mark, the Rockets were able to tie the game at 71-71, but then the Sonics went on a 9-0 run, including two three-pointers that broke the back of the struggling Rockets' offense. Yao checks out of the game for Jim Jackson with the Rockets trailing 80-71. The Rockets don't mount a last-minute comeback, and lose the game 97-80. Yao finishes with 14 points on 2-of-9 shooting, and two blocks.