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Yao unstoppable; Rockets top Knicks
HOUSTON (AP) - Yao Ming scored 35 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and matched a career high with seven blocks to lead the Houston Rockets to a 103-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
Yao hit 15 of 21 shots and also had a steal and two assists as the Rockets beat the Knicks for the fourth straight time.
Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston scored 13 points apiece for the Rockets, who shot 55 per cent (40-of-73) and outrebounded New York 45-33.
Stephon Marbury scored 22 points, Jamal Crawford had 18 and Quentin Richardson added 16 for the Knicks.
Eddy Curry, outmuscled by Yao most of the night, went 2-for-11 from the field and scored seven points with five rebounds.
Yao hit five of his first seven shots, dominating Curry from the start with baseline jumpers and quick drives. He blocked a shot by Curry at the other end, then took a pass from Alston for an easy dunk to give Houston a 12-4 lead.
The Knicks missed 11 of their first 17 shots, enabling the Rockets to keep the lead despite an 0-for-5 start by McGrady. The six-time all-star was averaging 19.6 points, but shooting only 40.5 per cent from the field coming into the game.
Yao cooled off, but remained a force on defence, blocking five shots - four by Curry - in the first half. Yao had 18 points and seven rebounds at the break.
He hit a turnaround jumper and a hook shot, then drove past Curry for a layup during a 14-4 Houston run to open the second half. McGrady finished the spurt with a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Rockets up 68-50.
The Knicks rallied from 12 down with eight minutes left to beat Denver on Wednesday and trimmed a 19-point Houston lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter Friday.
New York coach Isiah Thomas went to a small lineup and tried six-foot-eight rookie Renaldo Balkman on Yao. Balkman got a steal from Yao on one possession, but Yao had an easy lay-in on the Rockets' next trip down the floor to put Houston up 87-75.
The Knicks twice got within eight, but Luther Head and then Alston sank answering three-pointers to keep New York at bay.
Nate Robinson, at five-foot-nine, dunked off a missed shot and Marbury buried a three-pointer to cut Houston's lead to 99-93 with a 1:15 to go.
McGrady coolly sank two free throws and Yao added two more in the final minute.
Notes: New York's Steve Francis sat out for the second straight game with a sprained left ankle. Francis played for the Rockets from 1999-04. He and Yao embraced at midcourt when the game ended. . McGrady banked in an off-balance three-pointer off with 1.1 seconds left in the first half to give the Rockets a 54-46 lead. . The Rockets' four-game win streak over the Knicks is their longest in the 119-game history of the series. . The Rockets have outrebounded their last four opponents by 10 or more.
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