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Yao is fouled by Memphis' Stromile Swift in the third quarter. Despite getting hacked by other Memphis players like Pau Gasol, Yao and the Rockets beat the Grizzlies 97-86. (AP photo)

1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
11:29	Free Throws	From the top of the arc, Eddie Griffin passes over the long arms of Grizzlies' power forward Pau Gasol to Yao who is positioned in the middle of the paint four feet from the basket. Griffin throws the pass over Yao's head and the ball hits the backboard. However, Yao snatches the ricochet and goes up for the put-back, but he's hacked on the wrist by Grizzlies center Stromile Swift, and a foul is called. Yao steps up to the line and drains both free throws. The score is tied 2-2.
10:03		Memphis point guard Jason Williams drives from the backcourt all the way down the court to the bucket for a layup, and a chorus of boos rings from the Houston crowd for the lack of hustle from the Rocket defenders. The crowd has disdain for this "matador defense," one of many reasons why the Rockets did not make the playoffs. Looks like Steve Francis was burned on this one. Memphis leads 6-2.
9:39	Assist	From the upper left side, James Posey passes to Yao, who has one foot in the middle of the lane on the left side. As Yao dribbles against Swift, two Grizzlies rotate over to triple-team Yao! Of course, this leaves a man wide open! Yao turns and passes over the triple-team and hits Eddie Griffin cutting down the paint from the top of the key. With no Grizzly to plug up the middle thanks to the triple-team on Yao, Griffin goes in for the uncontested dunk! The Rockets trail 4-6.
7:11	Assist	From the upper left corner of the 3-point line, James Posey passes to Yao in the post. Yao catches the pass about a foot inside the Rocket's logo, and as JP's man (Shane Battier) inches his way to double-team Yao from the top, Yao kicks the ball back out to JP on the left side. JP quickly spots up for the trey and buries it! Yao now has 2 assists, 2 points (0-for-2 from the field, 2-for-2 from the line), and 1 rebound. The Grizzlies lead 9-11.
6:40		Grizzlies point guard Jason Williams slices his way down the left lane, blazing by James Posey. As Yao steps up to seal Williams off, he leaves his man Pau Gasol open for a split-second. Williams elevates for the layup, but at the last second dishes it to Gasol. However, Yao with great savvy expects the pass and is able to deflect the pass to save the easy Gasol bucket!
4:35	Assist	Steve Francis dumps a pass to Yao who is posted up on the left side of the lane. Again the Grizzlies (Battier and Williams) shift to triple-team Yao, and Yao makes them pay by simply making a drop pass to Francis who is curling baseline off of Yao's post position. With Francis' speed and hops, he easily finishes a reverse layup over Battier. Yao now has 3 assists and the Rockets lead 18-14. Memphis Grizzlies analyst and former NBA sharpshooter Hershey Hawkins comments, "What about Yao Ming! A little dump off to Francis going baseline...Yao Ming, a very good passer from the post."
1:35		Yao checks out of the game for Kelvin Cato. Yao leaves with 2 points (2-for-2 from the line), 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. The Rockets lead 26-18.
2nd quarter - Led by the play of Steve Francis (12 points and 3 assists) in the first quarter, the Rockets cap the first quarter off with a 9-0 run and lead 31-18. Yao has 2 points (0-for-2 from the field, 2-for-2 from the line), 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. Cato starts the second quarter.
Halftime - Both teams begin the second quarter ice cold with neither team scoring from the field (Rockets 0-for-6 and Grizzlies 0-for-7) for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the quarter. With the Grizzlies extending their poor shooting to the halfway point of the quarter, the Rockets build a double-digit lead and by the end of the half, the Rockets lead 54-40. Yao sits on the bench for the entire second quarter. We can only assume that since the Rockets are out of the Western Conference playoff picture, they can afford to leave Yao on the bench. Yao has the same statistics as he did at the end of the first quarter: 2 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the third quarter.
11:43		Posted up in the middle of the left side of the lane, Yao catches a post-entry pass from Francis. Yao moves to the middle and puts up a hook shot, but Stromile Swift reads Yao's move and soars high and times the block perfectly. Credit Stromile Swift's great athletic ability on that play!
7:18		Yao returns the favor to Stromile Swift! Swift catches a post-entry pass at the middle of the right edge of the lane. With his back to Yao, Swift dribbles to the left of the rim and tries to put up a layup. Little does Swift know, but Yao had set him up and allowed him to get that close to the basket! As Swift lays it in, Yao takes a huge swipe at the ball and swats it away! The Grizzlies trail 59-50.
6:23	Free Throws	Yao has the ball on the left side of the lane near the middle, and is guarded by Stromile Swift. Yao dribbles once, turns baseline and pump fakes. Swift bites on the fake, and as he's coming down, Yao leans into him and shoots, drawing the foul! Smart move by Yao to play on Swift's aggressiveness. Yao knocks down both free throws and now has 4 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the line. The Rockets lead 63-50.
5:11		Cutting down from the left wing, Stromile Swift flies in but misses a tip-in off a Jason Williams missed jumpshot. Yao stretches for the rebound and tries to tip it to himself, but Battier comes down with the rock. With the Great Wall between him and the basket, Battier pump fakes and attempts to lay it in, but Yao rejects Battier's two-footer and records his second block of the game! The Rockets continue to lead 63-53.
4:34		Cuttino Mobley passes to Yao in the middle of the left edge of the lane. Yao dribbles once to the middle of the lane, turns to the basket and drains the 12-foot fadeaway over Swift! Yao now has 6 points (1-for-4 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line) and his basket increases the Rockets lead, 65-53.
3:04	+ Free Throws	With Swift focused in on Mobley, Yao weaves his way just inside the left side of the paint, and Mobley slides a pass right into the hands of Yao. Gasol rotates over and Yao puts up a hook shot over Gasol that just barely misses off the side of the rim. JP snares Yao's miss, and puts a shot up that is blocked by Gasol! But JP gets his hands on the loose ball again, and puts up another shot that misses due to body contact from Gasol. Yao is there to collect the offensive board, pump fakes, and skies to the rim to throw it down, but Yao is slapped hard on the wrist by Gasol as he goes up! The whistle blows and Gasol is called on the obvious foul. Yao aces both the free throws and now has 8 points (6-for-6 from the line), and the Grizzlies trail 69-53.
2:28		Mobley passes to Yao who is camped right on top of the Rocket's logo on the left side. In one fluid motion, Yao spins baseline on Grizzlies power forward Robert Archibald, pivots back to the middle of the paint, and lofts in a 7-foot hook shot that hits nothing but net! What a beautiful move! The crowd loves it ! Yao now has 10 points on 2-for-6 shooting and the Rockets build their lead to 71-55.
2:09		From the upper-right side, Grizzlies point guard Earl Watson penetrates to the right edge of the lane, stops and pulls up to shoot a floater over Yao. But Yao moves quickly and meets Watson at the edge to block the shot! Yao's block results in a Francis fastbreak layup, and the Rockets lead 73-55. The crowd goes nuts over both Yao's block and the beautiful layup by Francis--they obviously have forgotten just for a few moments how disappointing this season has been.
1:07		Cato checks in for Yao. Yao leaves with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. The Rockets lead 73-57.
4th quarter - Yao turns in a productive third quarter, shooting 2-for-4 from the field and blocking an amazing 3 shots in the quarter alone. The Rockets lead 73-59. Throughout the remainder of the game, the Grizzlies never really threatened to take the lead. Yao ends up sitting on bench for the remainder of the game and Cato plays the entire fourth quarter.
0:00		The Grizzlies fall to the Rockets 97-86. Yao ends the game with 10 points (2-for-6 from the field, 6-for-6 from the line), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.