Yao goes up between Washington’s Antawn Jamison and Jarvis Hayes on Tuesday night in Houston as the Rockets dominated the Wizards, 123-93. Yao scored 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbed 9 boards. Click here for more photos from the game.

by Chia-Chi

TUESDAY, 2/15/05 – Have the dreams and expectations of the Rockets early in the season finally emerged? Have phrases like, “adjusting to a new system” and “finding their rhythm” been buried for good?

Rev up those bandwagon engines, I have a feeling the Rockets may be taking us for a ride.

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Yao blocks Portland’s Ruben Patterson’s shot on Sunday night in Houston as the Rockets escaped blowing a game where they had an 18-point lead in the third quarter. The Rockets prevailed 81-80 to win their seventh game in a row, but it wasn’t pretty. Yao had 23 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Rockets in scoring. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

SUNDAY, 2/13/05 – In every long win streak, you have to be lucky every once in awhile. That’s what the Rockets were on Sunday night. During the Rockets’ current 7-game winning streak–the longest in the league right now–the Rockets have faced close calls against Indiana, the Lakers, and Boston after blowing huge leads in the second half of each of those games. Sunday night against Portland had to be the biggest collapse of them all.

Up by 18 points in the third quarter, Houston let the Blazers back into the game, and even fell behind, but some fortuitous breaks for the Rockets gave them enough for an 81-80 victory.

After blowing the big lead, the Rockets fell behind 72-70, but then T-Mac threw up a prayer near the top of the three-point line, got fouled by Darius Miles, and the shot bounced high off the glass and through the net for the bucket, bringing Toyota Center to a roar! That was the first of several breaks to come for the Rockets.

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Yao puts up a shot attempt over Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal on Friday night. Yao scored an amazing 11 points in a row in the first quarter. He finished with 16 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes of action, limited in play because of foul trouble. The Rockets won their sixth in a row, 91-83. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

2/11/05, FRIDAY – The Rockets started and ended slowly in Indiana on Friday night, but in between they scored enough points to win their fourth road game in a row, 91-83, the longest win streak they have had on the road in almost 5 years. It was also their sixth win in a row, the longest current win streak in the league.

The Rockets quickly fell behind 8-0 and missed their first eight shots. But they recovered and got back into the game by scoring 7 straight points. In addition, Yao was the brunt of Houston’s attack, scoring 11 straight points on an incredible array of shots around the rim, hitting 5-of-7.

The Rockets took the lead for the first time with 2.2 seconds remaining in the first quarter when Ryan Bowen — of all people — hit a three-pointer from the corner to put Houston up 29-28. Man, it looks like everyone on this squad is hitting the three-ball lately.

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Yao acknowledges a teammate after scoring on an assist in the first quarter Wednesday night in Houston against the Bulls. Yao had an awesome game, scoring 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Rockets won 105-92. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

WEDNESDAY, 2/9/05 – After a three-day break since their last game on Sunday against the Lakers, Rocket fans were probably worried that a little rust build-up might slow them down against the younger Bulls on Wednesday night. I know I was. Although the Bulls had lost 3 out of their last 4 games, they did beat the Mavericks in Dallas the night before.

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Yao goes up against LA’s Lamar Odom on Sunday afternoon in a thriller of a game. Yao hit two big free throws to put the Rockets ahead 103-102 with 10 seconds remaining, and then held on for victory to win their fourth in a row, a season-high. Yao finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

SUNDAY, 2/6/05 – Not being overconfident, coming into Sunday’s game between the Rockets and Lakers I had a feeling that Houston had this game in the bag before it even started. After all, Houston was rolling after winning three games on the road. Meanwhile, the Lakers were still without Kobe because of an ankle injury, and they have to still be a bit discombobulated after Rudy Tomjanovich‘s sudden departure as head coach earlier in the week.

Well, I was about 75% right that it would be an easy game for the Rockets. Houston had complete control of the game through three quarters, taking a 84-69 lead into the fourth quarter. But LA staged an improbable comeback by outscoring the Rockets 33-15 to take a 102-99 lead with 1:23 remaining. Lamar Odom took control of the game with 14 points in the fourth quarter. Meawhile, a once-confident Rockets team suddenly couldn’t hit a shot during the Lakers run, reminiscent of the struggling Rockets team from just a couple of months ago.

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Yao and Minnesota’s Michael Olowokandi face off against each other in Minneapolis on Friday night. Yao had an outstanding game where he played with lots of confidence, scoring 23 points, racking up 14 rebounds and blocking two shots to help the Rockets win in overtime, 119-113. For more photos, click here. Read Chia-Chi’s analysis below, and John’s take of the game directly below that.

by Chia-Chi

FRIDAY, 2/4/05 – Tonight’s 119-113 victory by the Rockets over the Minnesota Timberwolves was more than just one win. As we approach the two-thirds mark of the season, every game becomes more important as the contenders for the playoff spots become more apparent. Both the Rockets and the Timberwolves are in precarious situations holding the 7th and 9th spots in the West, respectively, and could very well be competing for the 8th and final spot near the season’s end.

Yet regardless of how important this game was, there weren’t that many great dramas or big plays. It was just two great teams with great players and big aspirations playing hard. To use Jeff Van Gundy‘s favorite words, they played with a lot of heart tonight.

The first quarter was well-balanced with former Rocket Sam Cassell leading the charge for the Timberwolves, scoring three of their first four field goals. The Rockets did manage to stay within striking distance, though. All the Rockets’ starters scored, with Juwan Howard scoring six points in the quarter while Yao only scored two points. After one quarter of play, the Rockets trailed 26-33.

The second quarter was still a bit rough for the Rockets but they slowly and confidently inched back into the game. Yao had a couple of nice buckets as he seems to be rediscovering his range and his turnaround. T-Mac was great offensively, not only scoring and finding his own openings, but often drawing fouls for extra points. Even Rod Strickland had a series of nice plays and buckets.

Bob Sura continues to play at an excellent level using his speed to drive into the paint. In one amusing moment, Sura had words with a ref about a foul call he thought he deserved after a Kevin Garnett block. After Sura got a technical foul, both Yao and McGrady had to come over and pull him away to prevent him from drawing his second technical. It seems his temper is all too known by his teammates. At the conclusion of the second quarter the Rockets were down 54-58.

The second half was when Yao awoke and started asserting himself. It started with a hook shot. Then another when Yao made a shot and was fouled by Michael Olowokandi, who was ineffective guarding Yao. It seems Yao attracts bad calls from the refs. Fortunately at times it can work in the Rockets favor since Yao’s shot clearly came after the foul. Later in the quarter Yao had a nice one-handed offensive rebound and dunk.

In a change of behavior, Yao was passing it out more when he was guarded by multiple defenders, which he seems to be doing more lately. Normally the Rockets would expect him to power through three defenders when he has possession of the ball from an offensive rebound or nice catch with good position. But lately it seems he is passing it more to an open man rather than risking a turnover. As the Rockets’ three-point shooting improves, I see this as a viable option to bulldozing through defenders.

T-Mac also stepped up late in the third, scoring five consecutive points by faking his defenders and drawing the foul. Juwan Howard also hit two jumpers in the quarter. Howard’s performances have improved so dramatically from the beginning of the season that it might soon become expected to see him score in double-figures on a constant basis. The Rockets clearly controlled the tempo of the game as they took the lead for the first time since the first quarter, 83-79.

While the Rockets maintained the lead the Timerwolves wouldn’t quit. Behind a run by Wally Szczerbiak, the Timberwolves pulled within three early in the fourth. Kevin Garnett also scored with some nice post moves. Trenton Hassell also had a great quarter. In one exchange, Yao pulled down an offensive rebound and finished with a huge lunging dunk over Hassell. On the opposite end, Hassell exploited his speed against Yao after a screen to sneak by a dunk of his own. Hassell tied the game two free throws later at 100-100.

At this point Sam Cassell took over for the Timberwolves and scored two points with confidence to put them up by two with 27 seconds left in the game. But T-Mac hit a clutch jumper of his own to tie the game. Cassell had one more opportunity to win, but he missed, leading to overtime.

In OT the Rockets and T-Mac were too much for the Timberwolves. Right from the start, the Rockets scored five quick points for the lead which they never relinquished. Two missed free throws from McGrady and a missed free throw from Wesley kept the door of opportunity for the Timberwolves open, but they failed to get the defensive stops and the rebounds. The Rockets continued to control the tempo that they had from the second half and won a great game 119-113.

How’d Yao do?

Yao finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. While he started off cold in the first quarter, he came back with a vengeance in the second half. Even the commentators gave Yao props on his improved stamina and aggression in the game. Let’s hope Yao continues this play as the Rockets face the Lakers on Sunday, less Rudy T. and Kobe.

Chia-Chi
divinity@gmail.com

Bonus coverage: John’s take of the game

I couldn’t help but comment how entertaining of a game this was. Although the Rockets seemed to be missing lots of shots in the first half (20-of-44), all of the shot attempts seemed to be smart ones. They were also passing the ball crisply to each other without the offense really ever stagnating. As Chia-Chi mentioned above, Yao was playing with aggression. I loved one play in the first half where he made a spin move on former Rocket Eddie Griffin, took it to the rack, and threw it down with authority. Hey Eddie: that’s what you get for going nutso and messing up our power forward situation after we drafted you as the #3 pick a few years ago, traded Kenny Thomas because we thought you were the future of this team, and for us giving up the chance to keep now-superstar Richard Jefferson. But that’s a completely different story. Back to the game…

On defense, even though the T-wolves had the lead at halftime, the Rockets were working hard to cover them without giving up easy shots. Indeed, the Rockets were spirited and were determined to make a strong showing on national TV. More importantly, they seem to believe that they are becoming one of the better teams in the league considering all the victories they have piled up lately (14-6 after trading for David Wesley).

In the third quarter, the Rockets continued to impress on offense, outscoring the T-wolves 29-21 thanks to 9 free throws. Even more impressive, the Rockets didn’t turn the ball over once in the quarter.

I loved the play of Bob Sura, who made a sweet spin move on a defender in the open court late in the fourth quarter to give the Rockets a 102-100 lead. That was a clutch play that I didn’t think he had the physical ability to do. Although the game went into overtime, Sura hit a big three-pointer to give the Rockets some much needed breathing room. I picked up Sura in my fantasy league a few weeks ago, and despite a bad knee and dislocated finger, he has done extremely well for me. I can’t believe I was able to pick someone up of his caliber at this point in the season. Sura finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists on Friday night.

Yao played one of his best games of the season. In the fourth quarter he really hit some big shots, obviously feeling more confident in shooting his fadeaway jumpers and draining a few of them throughout the course of the game to rack up 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting. He also had some big rebounds when they needed them, finishing with 14. Now THAT’S the Yao we have been hoping to see every night: Dominant.

Of course, we can’t finish the evening without talking about Mr. Clutch, Tracy McGrady. He was simply awesome, hitting big shots when the Rockets needed someone to step up as the T-wolves continuously threatened down the stretch. I love it when T-Mac hits big shot after big shot on the road, drawing oohs and aahs from a crowd amazed by this guy who they only get to see in their own arena once or twice a year. Houstonians are lucky that they get to see him every night on TV if they so choose. T-Mac scored 9 points in the fourth quarter, and another 9 in OT to finish with 40 points. Let’s not forget about his 13 rebounds and four assists, either.

At the end of the game, you can tell the Rockets have much more confidence in themselves, both on the court and on the bench. You can tell these guys know how to win. T-Mac, Yao, Sura, Barry, Padgett, Wesley, Dikembe, Juwan, and even Clarence Weatherspoon and Rod Strickland all seem to be coming together as a team, with smiles all around. Who would’ve thunk it when the Rockets were one of the most boring teams to watch on offense just several weeks ago. A few trades later, and they are now one of the most polished.

You’ve got to give credit to Jeff Van Gundy for taking players from all over the league, putting them together, and getting some relatively quick results. Also give him credit for changing his normally boring, slow-it-down style by loosening the reins on T-Mac and the offense to now consistently score over 100 points a night.

I can’t wait for Sunday’s game, and I’m not talking about the Super Bowl. The real fun will be a few hours earlier when the Lakers come into Toyota Center. The Rockets seem to be playing at a higher level now, perhaps making the quantum leap where they can now be considered favorites in this game and many others. How quickly a season can change.

John
john@YaoMingFanclub.com

To read the Houston Chronicle’s post-game analysis, click here.

Allen Iverson tries to avoid the Great Wall in Philadelphia on Wednesday as the Rockets beat the 76ers going away 118-95. The Rockets had balanced scoring with seven players in double figures, Yao scored 12 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and had two blocks. For more photos from the game, click here.

by John

WEDNESDAY, 2/2/05 – Although they were on the East Coast in Philadelphia, the Rockets got a little bit of ‘Sacramento’ in them on Wednesday night. Like the Kings who have shown the Rockets the past few years what good things can happen if you share the basketball and shoot with accuracy, the Rockets had 35 assists on 41 field goals and nailed 14-of-25 three-pointers (56%) to defeat the 76ers 118-95.

The first quarter was a shootout. Allen Iverson torched the Rockets with 15 points and the 76ers scored on at least four alley-oop plays. The good news is that after the Rockets hit only 2-of-6 to start the game, the Rockets kept up by hitting six shots in a row. Yao scored 3 buckets in that run helped by great dishes from his teammates, and capped the scoring run with a bib throw-down over a mismatched Kyle Korver on a defensive switch. Incredibly, the Rockets had 9 assists to go with their first 8 buckets.

The Rockets cooled off the rest of the quarter, hitting 3-of-9 the rest of the way. They still managed to shoot 11-of-21 for a 52%, and T-Mac led the Rockets in scoring with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting. But Philadelphia was a bit better, hitting 61% of their shots and holding a 33-31 lead at the end of the first quarter.

At the beginning of the second quarter, T-Mac hit two consecutive 3-pointers from the top of the arc, along with a long two-pointer near the top of the key. So just 3 minutes into the second quarter after his barrage of long jumpers, he had 21 points to open up a 44-35 lead for the Rockets.

That’s when the fireworks really started for the Rockets, with David Wesley, Jon Barry and Scott Padgett hitting three-pointers. Bob Sura then scored on a fastbreak layup, was fouled, and converted the free throw. He then made another shot, and Wesley came back with another three-pointer, and the Rockets held a 62-49 lead.

If you can’t tell, I was ecstatic to see so much scoring come so quickly for the Rockets, thanks to hitting 6-of-10 three-pointer in the second quarter to outscore the Sixers 32-22 and hold an 8-point lead at halftime, 63-55. Houston shot a scorching 56%, out-rebounded Philly 23-15, and had an amazing 17 assists. If Philadelphia hadn’t outscored Houston 32-16 in the paint and stole the ball 8 times to Houston’s one steal, it would have been over.

At the start of the second half, the Rockets kept pouring it on by going on a 19-6 run thanks to the Sacramento Kings-like passing and long bombs, taking an 82-61 lead. Meanwhile, Iverson only scored three points since his first quarter 15-point outburst. The Sixers only hit 4-of-16 shots in the quarter while the Rockets outscored them 25-16 to hold a 17-point lead after the third quarter, 88-71. It helped that Yao and Dikembe Mutombo were altering shots down low.

The Rockets coasted in the fourth quarter, never threatened to lose the lead. To show just how things were going their way, Scott Padgett from underneath the basket threw a long pass out to Jon Barry behind the three-point line. Barry then faked a hard pass like he was going to pass the ball, which got Iverson to bite on the fake embarrassingly so that he was over 6 feet out of position. Standing all by himself with Iverson out of the picture, Barry launched a trey and buried it! That put the Rockets ahead 99-80.

With the big lead, Jeff Van Gundy rested many of his starters like Yao, Wesley and Juwan Howard. In the fourth, super subs like Barry scored 6, Padgett scored 10, and Dikembe scored 8 to seal a 118-105 victory.

When the dust cleared, T-Mac scored 34 points on 10-of-21, and made 5-of-10 three-pointers. Howard scored 14 points and had a surprising 13 rebounds. With the easy victory, Yao got some rest playing only 27 minutes and scoring 12 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and blocking two shots.

Most staggering: the Rockets’ 35 assists on 41 field goals. What got into them all of a sudden? Whatever it was, I hope they keep it rolling. The Rockets are now 26-21 and 12-11 on the road and face the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves (24-21) on Friday night.

John
john@YaoMingFanclub.com

To read the Houston Chronicle’s post-game analysis, click here.

Yao defends against scoring wizard Paul Pierce in Boston on Monday. Yao had a great game, outscoring Pierce 23 points to 22 to lead the Rockets in scoring on the way to a big 97-94 victory. Yao also grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

MONDAY, 1/31/05 – They always say if your NBA team is going to win a championship, you’ve got to have your role players step up. They say there’s no way one or two superstars are going to carry you to victory every night. Every once in awhile you need guys who aren’t in the limelight to pick up the slack.

The Rockets have had the good fortune this year to have guys like Bob Sura and Scott Padgett have big scoring nights while the big guns were struggling. On Thursday night in Boston, it was Jon Barry‘s turn.

The game was a see-saw battle between the Celtics and Rockets, but after the Rockets crept back into the game in the fourth quarter, Mr. Barry scored 11 straight points, including a sizzling three treys in a row to put the Rockets up 78-68. [It would have been four three-pointers in a row if he hadn’t had his right foot on the three-point line when he made a long two-pointer.]

After Barry’s outburst, the Rockets held on thanks to some clutch shots, including Barry’s baseline jumper and a beautiful finger roll after willing his way down the lane when the Rockets really needed a bucket. Barry finished with 15 points in the fourth quarter alone (17 overall).

Yao was also clutch in the fourth by making 3-of-4 shots to finish with 7 points (23 points total on 11-of-15 shooting). Yao also got off to one of his best starts of the year, scoring 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the first half. He was getting most of his buckets the way I love to see him utilized: passes from other guys while he’s moving to the basket like after pick-and-rolls. Yao was able to break free time-after-time in the first half. Yao also bolstered his scoring by hitting fadeaways in the lane, shots he has been missing frequently this season.

Thanks to Yao’s productive first half, he ended up negating a bad shooting half for T-Mac (3-for-10) and David Wesley (0-for-4) and helped the Rockets gain a 16-point lead. But the Rockets couldn’t blow it out and they let the Celtics back in the game to reach striking distance, 49-40, even though Houston shot 48% from the field, out-rebounded Boston 25-16, and had 7 more assists (16-9).

Before I describe what happened in the second half, major props go to T-Mac for the one basket he made in the first quarter: a coast-to-coast job where he faked a Celtic player out of his jock, shifted direction and threw down a one-handed jam with a strong snap of the wrist. One of the more spectacular throw-downs this season from T-Mac, and that’s saying something with the highlight reel season he has had thus far.

The momentum shifted to the Celtics in the third quarter when they went on a 12-0 run to take a 63-57 lead as the Rockets relied too much on the outside shot, missing 11-of-16 attempts. During that run, Celtic center Mark Blount scored 10 points in the quarter by camping outside away from Houston’s big men and hitting 4-of-4 long jumpers.

But Houston pulled it together to take a 67-65 lead at the end of the third quarter, thanks to Bob Sura scoring six points in a row. Sura finished with an all-around game, scoring 10, dishing 10, and grabbing 6 boards.

While Sura was superb, Barry was a bit better as he launched his onslaught of long bombs to score 11 in a row and give Houston some breathing room at 78-68. It wasn’t over, though. Boston’s Ricky Davis went off and scored 17 of the Celtics next 24 points to help tie the game at 92-92 with 44 seconds remaining.

Down the stretch it turned into a free throw shooting contest, with the Rockets hitting five free throws. They were helped by a rare miss from Davis, whose three-pointer that could have tied it at 95-95 clanged off the iron. The rebound came down to the Rockets, and unlike the wasted performance by super-sub Scott Padgett against Sacramento last week, Jon Barry could enjoy a victory to go along with his clutch performance.

Just a few weeks ago, Barry was toiling away on the Atlanta bench. One Tyronn Lue trade later, Barry is showing he still has some game left in him. So what role player will step up in Philadelphia? I think David Wesley is due.

What do you think?

Before I sign out, I watched the Boston television coverage instead of Houston’s coverage of the game, and when the commentators said it was the third annual Asian-American night at Boston’s Fleet Center, I was disappointed the Celtics so blatantly use Yao’s appearance to make a few more bucks. I know many NBA teams did that while Yao was doing his first or second tour of duty, but c’mon, it’s his third year already. He’s no longer a novelty. Even worse, as they discussed on television the event, the cameras panned the crowd highlighting unsuspecting Asian-Americans sitting in their seats.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a little offended by that. If it were Mexican-American night, would they have so explicitly shown Mexican-Americans in the crowd? Or if it were Martin Luther King night, would they have focused only on African-Americans? How about Greek night? I doubt it.

I just have a feeling that the guys who control what goes on the sports tube in Boston think that Asian-Americans are like cartoon characters who can be put in the spotlight without feeling like they are being exploited. I beg to differ. Why does it seem like there is a lower level of political correctness toward people of Asian descent? What do you think? If you feel like I do (or if you don’t), someone start a thread in the forum under the “Non-Yao Stuff” section and let’s all discuss it.

John
john@YaoMingFanclub.com

To read the Houston Chronicle’s post-game analysis, click here.

Yao tries to defend Shaq on Sunday afternoon in Miami. Although Yao (22 points, 9 rebounds) got the better of Shaq statistically (15 points, 5 boards), the Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter and won 104-95. For more photos from the game, click here.

by Chia-Chi

SUNDAY, 1/30/05 – After Sunday’s game in Miami between the Rockets and the Heat, the good news is that far from being demolished by a motivated Shaq, Yao played well against the “Most Dominant Ever.” The bad news is that the Rockets lost another game (104-95) they could have won, and Bob Sura injured his hand and was taken off the court to get immediate x-rays.

In what was to be the twelfth chapter in the Clash of the Titans, both Yao and Shaq were saddled with foul troubles, so it was up to the smaller guys to duke it out.

The first quarter started slow for both big men, with Shaq being called for traveling and Yao missing his first two shots. Barely four minutes into the game, Yao was benched with his second personal foul.

With Yao out of the game, the Heat relied on Shaq’s presence in the lane to draw double-teams, resulting in passes to open shooters on the perimeter. The Heat scoring was spread evenly among their starters, whose speed and athleticism were difficult for the Rockets’ defense to handle.

Luckily, Sura decided to take over on the offensive end, easily cutting into the lane for layups or trips to the charity stripe. Sura ended the 1st quarter with 12 points. Yao was 0-2 with two fouls.

In the second quarter both big men became more active and the game slowed down considerably. Yao had a nice shot over Heat backup center
Michael Doleac to start the quarter, but Shaq came back and stopped the mismatch Yao temporarily enjoyed. The two centers seemed to be motivated to play against each other, with both men scoring four quick points.

Shaq picked up a third foul late in the second quarter, but the Rockets didn’t give Yao any touches during those minutes. The Rockets ended the half down by two points, 48-46.

The Rockets started the second half slowly and seemed to forget that Yao even existed. In a frustrating quarter, Dwyane Wade through sheer speed split defenders and got into the paint at will, drawing fouls or hitting big buckets and scoring 11 in the third quarter. Shaq was surprisingly quiet, preferring to pass the ball to teammates. Yao was on the opposite end of the spectrum, being wide open with single coverage under the basket, only to be ignored by his teammates completely.

Starting the fourth quarter the Rockets were within three points of the Heat. But the game that was within reach soon started to slip away. Two free throws and a 3-point shot from Eddie Jones quickly put the Rockets behind 8 points and resulted in a Jeff Van Gundy timeout.

Yao roared back and grabbed a big offensive rebound only to be fouled hard by Doleac. On the next play Yao received a pass with Shaq guarding him and, in a move we haven’t seen for a while, did a quick turnaround without lowering the ball and shot over Shaq for a bucket. But soon after those plays, Yao collected two bad fouls guarding Shaq.

Dikembe Mutombo came in and rebounded well; tipping to himself three times in a row and drawing Shaq’s fourth foul. Unfortunately, Mutombo could not match Shaq’s strength or Wade’s quickness and picked up two quick fouls himself. Wade, who didn’t play as many minutes as normal due to three fouls in the first quarter, exploded in the fourth, giving the Heat a 12 point lead when Yao came back into the game with five minutes to go.

Yao scored eight more points and T-Mac scored a huge three with 30 seconds left to pull within 5 points, but Wade closed the deal with
two free throws and a nice bucket to end any Rockets hope.

In a daring move by the Heat, Shaq stayed near the basket with Yao the only Rocket near him on an alley-oop play in the last 40 seconds that would have been icing on the cake for Shaq if Yao had not stolen the inbound pass.

Late in the fourth, Sura left the game with an apparent right ring finger injury from trying to guard Shaq. Sura was led off the court to have x-rays done on his hand. If the Rockets lose Sura to injury, it will be a huge blow since the Rockets need the points he provides (21 points on Sunday) from his position. We’ll find out soon enough after the Rockets make a long flight on Sunday up the east coast to take on Boston on Monday night.

Chia-Chi
divinity@gmail.com

To read the Houston Chronicle’s post-game analysis, click here.