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Yao vs. Heat - 12/16/02


Yao and Steve Francis bond after gutting out a tough victory against Miami in overtime, 105-100.
The Rockets may have laid down and died Saturday when they lost to the Clippers, but they resurrected themselves in Miami on Monday. Forget for a moment all the woes from their past two games against teams they should have beaten, the Rockets executed an all-important play when it had to be made. Down by 3 points with five seconds remaining, Steve Francis curled around Yao Ming's screen at the three-point line, received the pass from Y.M., dribbled twice and hit a fadeaway jumper with no time remaining to put the game into overtime. In OT, the Rockets executed when they needed it and won 105-100.

In a season-high 41 minutes, Yao had 15 points on outstanding 5-for-6 shooting from the field (his league leading field goal percentage continues to rise). He was also 5-for-6 from the line. What was surprising was that he only took two shots in the first half (both in the second quarter), scoring only five points. But Yao had help this game with Francis hitting the clutch trey (21 points total), Mobley shooting 9-for-20 (27 points) and Glen Rice 6-for-8 (15). If the Rockets can just get three players shooting with this kind of efficiency, they should win.

Defensively, Yao had 5 BLOCKS (also a season high), with Eddie Griffin chipping in 4 blocks of his own. This game shouldn't have been that close, but Eddie Jones lit it up during the fourth quarter by scoring 12 points in a row to close a fourteen point deficit to two.

If the Rockets had lost this game against the Heat (6-17), who knows what would have happened with this team. A shake-up of some sort could have been expected after losing to three teams in a row with losing records (Grizzlies, Clippers, Heat). But that kind of overhaul shouldn't be expected until the Rockets, now 13-10, are on the brink of being .500 again.

Next up

It gets real tough Wednesday night when the Rockets face the Indiana Pacers, the team with the Eastern Conference's best record at 18-5. But look for the Rockets to rise to the occasion, especially since the game is being televised nationally on ESPN. They seem to play their best when faced with a challenge.


Yao stalks Miami's Malik Allen.

Yao and Glen Rice pursue a rebound.

Yao blocks the shot of fellow first-round draft pick Caron Butler in the fourth quarter Monday night.
Detailed Yao analysis

1st quarter
8:06 Free Throws In his favorite spot guarded by Brian Grant, Yao spins toward the baseline and dribbles twice, but Grant catches up with him and wraps him up for the foul. Yao goes to the line and hits both free throws. Houston trails 8-10.
5:12   Yao is on the right baseline with Grant guarding him. He dribbles in place twice with his left hand, and Grant pokes his hand in to knock it away and gets the steal.
1:08   Yao checks out of the game for Cato with 2 points. Rockets trail 22-23
2nd quarter
7:17   Yao checks back into the game for Cato. The score is 35-35.
5:43 Yao gets the ball way out high on the right side, faces up, dribbles twice toward the basket with his man on him, then pivots quickly and goes up for a jump shot, but misses. Very nice spin move, though. After seeing fellow countryman Wang Zhi-Zhi execute an outstanding spin move during the Rockets-Clippers game on Saturday, we wonder if Yao wanted to show the world he could do the same. This will be Yao's only miss of the game!
5:31   Yao is fouled in the paint without the ball. He subsequently misses the first free throw, but makes the second. Yao now has three points (3-for-4 from the line).
1:15 Rocket Eddie Griffin shoots a jumper that misses, but it bounces off the back iron. Yao stretches out to get the rebound at the edge of the paint. Double-teamed, he sees Grffin underneath the basket and fakes a pass to Brian Grant's left, who bites on the fake. Yao then shovels a pass around Grant's other side (right side) to Griffin. Griffin shoots a baby hook shot, which misses of the iron...BUT YAO IS THERE TO SLAM IT HOME FOR THE FOLLOW-UP DUNK!! Nice job by Yao in following up on the offensive glass (as always), and faking Grant out ont he pass.
The Rockets finish the 2nd quarter on a 24-11 run to lead 46-40 at halftime.
:19 Miami's Stepania drives to his right down the lane, and Yao tracks alongside him to get a block. Stepania actually lost the ball out of bounds, but Yao was given credit for the block. We'll take it, though.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the 2nd half with 5 points and 4 rebounds.
10:05 Mobley shoots a jumper from the baseline and misses, BUT YAO SKIES FOR THE REBOUND, brings the ball down and creates space by nudging (legally) against his defensive man, then goes up for a beautiful floater 5 feet from the basket in the middle of the lane. SCORE IT! HE ALSO SHOT THAT BALL ON THE WAY DOWN, TOO, WITH A DELICATE TOUCH THROUGH THE PERFECT SNAP OF THE WRIST. Yao now has 7 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field. The Rockets lead 48-43.
7:20 Mobley drives the lane from the 3-point line, puts up a shot and feels he got hacked as the ball falls short of the rim...BUT YAO IS THERE TO CLEAN UP THE MESS AND THROW DOWN A TWO-HANDED DUNK! This is what we like to see: Yao moving to the basket for lots of easy and emphatic buckets! The Rockets lead 55-50, and Yao has 9 points.
5:09 Yao gets great position in the paint, and is fed the ball on an entry pass. Brian Grant comes over to put himself between Yao and the bucket. But it doesn't matter. Yao goes up for the shot, and BANKS IT BEAUTIFULLY OFF THE GLASS as he is coming down with the same flick of the wrist. Yao must be doing this to keep the defense from timing a block (although I can't imagine him getting blocked regardless). Yao has 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. The Rockets lead 62-56.
3:08   Yao checks out of the game. The Rockets lead 68-59.
4th quarter - The Rockets lead 75-63. Cato remains in the game for Yao.
6:25 Eddie Jones drives the lane, but Griffin is able to block it. The ball comes back down to Jones, BUT THIS TIME YAO SWATS IT OFF THE GLASS for the double-whammy block on Jones! But the ball comes down to Malik Allen, who scores on a jumper. Nice defensive sequence, though.
5:38 With the Rockets only holding a 79-77 lead, Malik Allen gets a rebound in the paint close to the baseline and goes up for a jumper, but Yao come over from the side and REJECTS IT! BIG BLOCK!
0:00   Down by 3 points (88-91) on a play similar to the Grizzlies game on Friday night, Yao gets the ball out high. Francis curls around him and sets the screen on Francis' man. Francis proceeds to dribble twice along the perimeter of the 3-point line, then lofts a tough fallaway shot as the buzzer goes off to TIE THE GAME WITH A 3-POINTER!!! The game goes into overtime tied 91-91
Overtime
2:43 Francis drives the lane while Yao is parked on the right baseline. Yao rushes to the basket once Francis gets closer to the bucket, and as Brian Grant collapses on Francis to double-team him, Francis DISHES OFF TO YAO, WHO JAMS IT HOME WITH A TWO-HANDED DUNK! The Rockets are up 95-93. Yao has 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field.
:5.3 Free Throws Mike James shoots a 3-pointer to try to tie the score at 103, but his shot bounces high off the back iron, and YAO SNAGS THE REBOUND HIGH OUT OF THE AIR and is fouled! Yao goes to the free throw line, hits both throws, and seals the victory!

Yao finishes with 15 points (5-for-6 from the field, and the line) 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks (a season high) in 41 minutes of play (also a season-high).



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