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Yao throws down a dunk against Denver on Wednesday night in the final game of the season. Houston went on to beat the Nuggest 89-84, and finished the season with a 3-game winning streak. (AP photo)

1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
11:12		Yao catches a post-entry pass about a foot under the Nuggets logo on the left side. Yao dribbles his way to the middle of the paint, turns to the basket and tries to bank in a shot over Nuggets center Marcus Camby. The shot rattles off the rim and Camby mis-times the rebound. Yao grabs the ball with his stretched-out right hand underneat the basket, dribbles once, then turns and slams it down with a SNAP! Yao scores the Rockets first points, and the Rockets lead 2-0.
10:46		Nuggets forward Rodney White penetrates down the left side of the lane off a high screen set at the top of the key. As White dribbles his way closer to the hoop, Yao rotates from the weak side to prevent the easy layup. White charges in and takes it strong right in front of Yao, and Yao answers back by punishing the ball so hard that it soars all the way to the three-point line! Yao's menacing defense sparks a Rocket fastbreak! Steve Francis picks up the loose ball and dribbles his way down the right wing. As he closes in on the basket, Franchise flips a sweet behind-the-head pass to a trailing Eddie Griffin who ices the fastbreak with a powerful two-handed dunk! Yao should get a partial assist on this play! The Rockets lead 4-0.
10:02		From the left side, Eddie Griffin throws a deep post pass to Yao who catches it 3-feet in front of the basket. Yao, guarded by Rodney White, takes advantage of the mismatch by quickly turning away from him and banking in a right-handed hook shot! Give credit to Griffin for threading the needle on his pass to Yao, who was surrounded by 3 Nuggets. Amazingly, when the ball left Yao's hand on the shot, there were 5 Nuggets standing within 5 feet of him. Talk about a collapsing defense! Yao has 4 points on 2-for-3 shooting and the Rockets lead 6-3.
8:12		Yao sets a screen near the top of the key that frees up Steve Francis, who immediately begins weaving his way down the right side of the lane. With two Nuggets on him, Francis dribbles toward the bucket, and at the last moment, he flips another beautiful behind-the-head pass to Yao who is cutting through the middle of the paint. Yao finishes the play by throwing down another quick one-handed dunk! Beautiful setup by Franchise! Yao has 6 points on 3-for-4 shooting and the Nuggets trail 8-7.
3:48	Intimidation	On 5-on-4 fastbreak (thanks to Francis taking his time arguing with the officials), Nuggets power forward Juwan Howard makes a nice pass to an unguarded Shammond Williams (Nuggets' point guard) who is cutting through the middle of the paint. With Yao plugging up the middle, Williams decides to arc a layup high off the glass on the left side of the rim, but Yao's outstreched hand proves to be too much as Williams' layup comes up short. Yao snatches the rebound and the Rockets gain possession.
3:02	Free Throws	Yao has the ball half a step under the Nuggets logo on the left side of the paint. With Nuggets rookie sensation Nene Hilario defending him, Yao dribbles once and shoots a 12-foot fadeaway. The shot misses but Yao is able to draw the body contact, and Hilario is called for the foul. Yao misses the first free throw, but makes the second. Yao now has 7 points and the Rockets are on top 15-13.
2:18		Kelvin Cato substitutes into the game for Yao. Yao leaves with 7 points, an impressive 8 rebounds, and 1 block. The score is tied 15-15.
2nd quarter - Characterized by sloppy play (8 turnovers in the first quarter), the Rockets played lackadaisically in the first quarter, and the Nuggets capped off the quarter with a late 2-minute push and lead the Rockets 22-19. The only bright spot for the Rockets is Yao, who has 7 points (3-for-4 from the field, 1-for-2 from the line), 8 rebounds and 1 block. Cato starts the second quarter.
7:47		Scott Hastings, Denver Nuggets TV analyst, comments: "Houston right now with 7:47 left in the game is going through the motions." The Rockets begin the second quarter throwing up bricks. By the 7:45 mark, the Rockets have shot only 1-for-7 from the field, and the Nuggets have a double-digit lead 32-22. After Cato gets called for a technical foul for trash talking with Nene Hilario (Hilario was whistled for the technical as well), Yao checks back into the game to try to save the Rockets from another fiasco.
7:15		Eddie Griffin takes a 3-pointer at the top of the arc that misses off the front of the rim and ricochets off the backboard. Yao jockeys for the offensive board and easily out-reaches Hilario to collect the rebound. Yao then dribbles once and tries to bank in a point-blank two-footer on the left side of the rim, but the shot rolls in-and-out! Hilario grabs the miss shot and Yao echoes a loud grunt in frustration! He knows he should have dunked that ball!
5:23	Assist	Yao has the ball and is positioned right on top of the Nuggets logo on the left side of the lane. On the upper-left side Nuggets guard Adam Harrington turns his head to Yao for one second, and at that moment Cuttino Mobley begins to cut down the paint. With Harrington trailing Mobley, Yao places a perfect bounce-pass right in front of Mobley who catches it and lays it in off a reverse! The Rockets trail 29-37.
4:23	Free Throws	Steve Francis curls behind Yao's screen on the upper-right side and as Francis dribbles by Yao, Yao breaks to the basket. Francis throws a pass to Yao who catches it right in the middle of the right edge of the lane. With two Nuggets rotating in, Yao pump fakes, dribbles once to the middle, spins his way to the hoop and goes up but is fouled by Nuggets forward Donnell Harvey. Yao steps up the line and knocks down both throws. Yao has 9 points (3-for-4 from the line) and the Nuggets lead 31-37.
3:14	Assist	Yao has the ball in his favorite post position on the left side. As Donnell Harvey edges his way to double-team from the top, Yao dribbles once to the middle, and turns as if to shoot, but from his side he bullets a pass to Rice who is behind top of the 3-point line. With such an open look, you know Rice is money! Rice squares up and buries the trey as the shot clock buzzer goes off! Yao's second assist slices the Nuggets' lead to 5 points. The Rockets trail 34-39.
2:26	Free Throws	Mobley pass to Yao who is camped out right on top of the Nuggets logo on the left side. Yao spins baseline on Camby, but Camby tries to seal Yao's path off, and as a result Camby gets called for the blocking foul. With the Nuggets over the limit, Yao steps up the to the line and makes both free throws. Yao is now shooting 5-for-6 from the line and has 11 points, and 10 rebounds. Yao already has a double-double in the first half. The Nuggets lead the Rockets 41-36.
2:12		On a quick first step, Nuggets guard Jeff Trepagnier drives down the left wing and blows by Cuttino Mobley. As Trepagnier flies to the rim for the layup, Yao close in and reaches over Trepagnier to block the shot! Yao's reach is so long that he never even touched Trepagnier on that play! After Yao's block, there's a fight for the ball and Donnell Harvey is called for a loose ball foul. The Rockets regain possession.
Halftime - Yao's return to the game in the second quarter yielded immediate results on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court. The Rockets are now only down by a deuce, trailing 42-44. Yao has 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting (5-for-6 from the free throw line), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the third quarter.
11:20		Just outside the middle of the right edge of the lane, Yao works his way inside on Marcus Camby. Yao then turns to the middle and puts up a 4-foot leaning hook shot WITH HIS LEFT HAND over Camby that barely misses off the back iron! We don't see Yao missing too many of these shots in the future!
11:09	Free Throws	Yao is posting up on top of the Nuggets logo on the left side. Yao dribbles his way to the middle of the paint and as the double-team rotates over from the top, Yao holds the ball high over the double-team, pivots to the middle, and lofts his classic hook shot. In an attempt to block Yao's shot, Camby slaps Yao's arm. The whistle blows as the shot falls short of the rim. Yao buries both free throws giving him 13 points (3-for-7 from the field, 7-for-8 from the line). Yao's free throws tie the game 44-44.
8:48		Off a Juwan Howard screen, White dribbles his way down the right side of the lane where he runs into Yao, who is 5 feet away from the basket. White pump fakes once, jumps towards the right baseline to attempt a small jumper, but Yao easily waves his hand and swats the ball away for his third block!
7:16		From the upper-right side, Franchise fakes a cross-over to his left, and drives down the heart of the paint. As the Nuggets defense picks him up, Franchise flips a no-look over-the-shoulder pass to Yao. Yao catches it and tries to go up strong, but Marcus Camby clings on Yao's arm a bit. Yao ends up missing an easy two-foot layup as the shot rolls off the rim. Yao tries to tip it in, but that shot attempt misses. Yao and Eddie Griffin both fight for the rebound, and the ball eventually goes out of bounds and the Nuggets gain possession. Yao probably shows the most anger we have seen him express toward himself by belting out a loud yell of frustration!
2:55	Intimidation +	Nene Hilario grabs an offensive board off an Adam Harrington 3-pointer miss. Hilario takes it strong and attempts to take a shot over Yao, but Yao covers so much vertical area that Hilario bricks it hard off the glass! Nuggest guard/forward Vincent Yarbrough comes up with the rebound on the right side of the rim. Yarbrough then tries to take a turnaround two footer, but Yao is to there to completely reject Yarbrough's shot! Yao's awesome defensive display leads to a JP runaway dunk! The Rockets lead 62-60.
0:47.5		Adam Harrington drives down the left side of the lane with Steve Francis covering him every step of the way. With Francis on him so tight, Harrington suddenly stops and pulls up to shoot a 6-footer. But in the background Yao had already set his feet and as Harrington shoots, Yao climbs high and blocks Harrington's shot! With his fifth block, Yao is really a terror on the defense tonight!
4th quarter - Although Yao missed all four of his shots in the third quarter, his amazing defensive plays not only deflated the Nuggets confidence, but also led to several fastbreak points. After three quarters, Yao has 13 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 blocks! The Rockets lead 71-64. Cato starts the third quarter.
5:25		Yao checks back in to close out the final game of the year. In the remainding minutes, Yao misses a shot, but grabs a couple of rebounds.
0:00		In their last game of the year, the Rockets defeat the Nuggets 89-84. Yao had a cold night shooting (only 3-for-11 from the field), but we really liked how Yao was able to contribute on the glass and on the defensive end. Yao finishes the game with 13 points (3-for-11 from the field, 7-for-8 from the line), an incredible 16 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5 intimidating blocks.