Yao, Rockets Get Better of Kings

The Sacramento Kings found out just how far Yao Ming has come since the beginning of the season.

Yao had 18 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and a season-high six assists as the Houston Rockets beat the Kings, 105-89, Sunday at Houston.

“Every time I play him, he continues to get better and better,” Sacramento’s Vlade Divac said. “He’s definitely going to be a great player in this league. I really like the way he thinks on the court. He plays very unselfishly and understands the concept of the game.”

In early December, Sacramento and Houston split two games in which Yao had a combined 25 points and 20 rebounds. He was much improved this time, as he notched his team-leading 15th double-double.

“Yao was tremendous inside moving the ball around and scoring,” Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.

“On offense, he puts their defense in a very vulnerable position. If you turn your head, we’ve got guys cutting and you don’t know who to help. He’s got a great feel for open people.”

Houston took an early 13-2 lead as the Kings missed eight of their first nine shots. Yao, Eddie Griffin and Steve Francis sparked a 12-3 run late in the first quarter and the Rockets expanded their lead to 29-9 with 2:47 left. They had a 32-12 lead at the end of the quarter.

Atlanta 97, Orlando 89 -- The Hawks overcame a 38-point performance by Tracy McGrady at Atlanta to win for the fifth time in six games, including three in a row for the first time since Nov. 12-18.

McGrady broke the club record he set earlier this season with his eighth consecutive game of at least 30 points, but the NBA’s leading scorer missed his last three shots after his three-pointer cut Atlanta’s lead to 82-76 with 4:44 left.

Minnesota 99, Philadelphia 91 -- Kevin Garnett had 30 points and 17 rebounds to lead the short-handed Timberwolves to their eighth consecutive home victory.

Marc Jackson had 14 points and Gary Trent had 12 points to offset the absence of Joe Smith, who sprained his ankle Friday and will be sidelined at least three weeks.

The Timberwolves had only 10 players in uniform, with Rod Strickland on the bench because of a strained groin.

Portland 114, Cleveland 95 -- Rasheed Wallace made 10 of 13 shots and scored 29 points in 32 minutes at Cleveland to help the Trail Blazers win for the seventh time in eight games.

The Cavaliers, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games, dropped to 1-5 under Coach Keith Smart.

Denver 93, Memphis 78 -- The Nuggets outscored the Grizzlies, 19-4, over the first 7:25 of the fourth quarter to take an 87-72 lead at Denver and went on to end a seven-game losing streak.

The Nuggets outshot the Grizzlies, 42% to 35%, and outrebounded them, 55-38, including 15-3 in the final quarter.