Rockets’ Big Two Lead to 2-0 Edge

With the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant era over, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady provided a glimpse of what could be the next one.

Yao scored 33 points on 13-for-14 shooting and McGrady had 28, but it was their baskets in the final 1:07 that mattered most in Houston’s 113-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night for a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series.

“We’re definitely in the driver’s seat,” McGrady said. “We’ve got to stay grounded. We haven’t done anything yet.”

The Rockets trailed, 102-95, with 5:36 left, but McGrady began a go-ahead run of six shots in a row with another of his jumpers. When the Mavericks tied it at 109, the duo came through again, with McGrady driving to the rim, then slipping the ball to Yao for an easy dunk with 1:06 left.

Dallas tied it again, though, when Dirk Nowitzki -- who led the Mavericks with 26 points -- made a jump shot from about 15 feet with 10.4 seconds left.

McGrady, however, never hesitated. Not even looking to the bench for a possible timeout, he inbounded the ball, got it back and went behind a Yao screen to make a long game-winning two-pointer with 2.2 seconds left.

“We shocked them a little bit by not calling timeout,” McGrady said. “My teammates didn’t even know.”

Given one last chance to salvage a split at home, Dallas failed when Michael Finley missed from near the top of the key.