YaoMingMania.com

Yao reacts to his huge assist to Kelvin Cato on Friday night in Houston against the Chicago Bulls. The play helped put the Rockets ahead 80-77 with 1:25 remaining in the game (more information on the play is in the Detailed Yao Analysis below). The Rockets barely beat the Bulls 82-80 on a buzzer-beater from Jim Jackson. Yao led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. To see more photos from the game, click on this topic in the YaoMingMania.com discussioin forum. (Photo courtesy AP).

1st quarter
11:45		As usual, Yao gets the ball on the first Rockets' possession of the game to get him "warmed up" quickly. This time he gets the ball on the left edge of the lane, and he is guarded one-on-one by Eddy Curry. Yao dribbles once in place, then pivots baseline to launch a 6-foot jumper over Curry, who doesn't even try to block the shot since it would be fruitless given Yao's height. Yao drains it, and the Toyota Center crowd belts out a loud roar! The Houston crowd is typically sparse at the beginning of the game since many fans arrive late, so the loudness of the cheer is surprising. The Rockets lead 2-0.
10:47		Yao misses badly a left-handed, 6-foot jump hook in the lane over Curry. We mentioned in the last game that this shot is one that Yao seems to miss frequently, but for good reason because it's difficult to shoot with the left hand if you're right-handed like Yao.
9:56		Yao gets the ball about a foot inside the right edge of the lane, and Curry is guarding him one-on-one. Yao quickly spins toward the baseline and shoots a RIGHT-handed hook shot over Curry, AND HE SCORES! Yao is now 2-for-3 from the field and has all 4 of the Rockets points. Houston trails 4-5.
9:26		The Rockets are really trying to exploit the Yao-Curry matchup by throwing the ball to Yao once again, this time closer to the baseline on the left edge of the lane. Yao simply takes one step up the right edge of the lane (toward the free throw line), then throws up another right-handed hook shot from about 7 feet and IT'S PERFECT ONCE AGAIN! Yao might be schoolin' the recent high-schooler Curry! The Rockets trail 6-7, and Yao is 3-for-4 from the field with 6 points.
8:40	Ouch!	Curry gets the ball in front of the rim and throws down a spectacular one-handed windmill jam over Yao, who tried to contest the shot, but Curry showed alot of power on that one! The Bulls' bench gets excited after that dunk! Curry must have had enough of Yao and really wanted to show that he has some skills of his own. Impressive! Yao actually left Curry open so that he could help out in defending the Bulls' point guard Kirk Hinrich, who was penetrating along the left baseline. But Hinrich did a good job passing the ball to the open man Curry. I'm sure that dunk will make the highlight reels. For some reason, the media likes to show players who throw powerful dunks over Yao.
7:28		Wide open, Yao misses a long 21-foot jumper from the top of the key. He is now 3-for-5 from the field. Houston trails 6-9.
5:46	Free Throws	Jim Jackson passes a nice lead pass to Yao, who is moving toward the bucket along the left edge of the lane. Yao catches it close to the baseline, turns and tries to lean in and lay it up off the glass, but Curry fouls him with his body. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. Yao now has 8 points, and is 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line. The Rockets trail 12-13.
3:56		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. In eight minutes, Yao has 8 points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field, and is 2-for-2 from the line. The Rockets trail 12-13.
2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets lead 26-23. Both Yao, Eddy Curry and Kirk Hinrich are leading their teams in scoring with 8 points apiece. It's not a bad duel between the two big centers now. Houston shot 50% from the field on 9-of-18 shooting. Chicago shot 9-for-21 from the floor. Factoid: Houston has a 21-5 record when leading after the first quarter.
6:27		Yao checks back into the game for Clarence Weatherspoon, who has been playing very well and has scored 8 points. The Rockets lead 34-31.
5:38		Yao misses a wide open 19-foot jumper from the right side of the court. That's Yao's second miss from the outside tonight. He is now 3-for-6 from the field. The Rockets lead 34-31.
5:12		Yao shoots a right-handed hook shot over Tyson Chandler in about the same place where he made shot attempt #3 earlier tonight, AND HE HITS IT AGAIN! His right-handed hook shot is deadly -- that's his third right-handed hook tonight! He is now 4-for-7 from the field with 10 points. The Rockets lead 36-33.
3:55	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball down low in front of the rim, and he attempts to put up his "automatic" right-handed hook shot over Tyson Chandler, but he's fouled by Chandler (for good reason since Yao is so hot with that shot). Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. He is now 4-for-4 from the line and 4-for-7 from the field with 12 points. The Rockets lead 38-35.
3:43		On the ensuing Bulls possession, Kirk Hinrich drives down the middle of the lane and surely knows Yao will challenge his layup attempt, AND YAO DELIVERS BY BLOCKING IT 'TEXTBOOK STYLE' for his first block of the game! The blocked shot comes down to the Bulls' Jerome Williams to the right of the rim, and Williams goes up to put a layup attempt off the glass....BUT YAO COMES OVER AND SWATS IT AWAY (AND LEGALLY) AGAINST THE GLASS FOR HIS SECOND BLOCK IN 3 SECONDS! Of course, the Toyota Center crowd roars in awe! The Rockets are holding on to a 38-35 lead.
2:28		Yao misses a four-foot turnaround jump shot in the lane that bounced high off the glass. Yao is now 4-for-8 from the field with 12 points. The Rockets still trail 38-35.
2:14		Yao checks out of the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. The Rockets lead 39-37.
Halftime - At the end of the second quarter, the Rockets lead 41-37. The Rockets are shooting 43% at the half, but they have made only 1-of-7 three-point attempts and are being outrebounded 24-22. The Bulls' rookie point guard Kirk Hinrich has scored 13 points.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
9:27		Yao misses a 6-foot fallaway jumper from the right baseline over Curry. Yao is now 4-for-9 with 12 points.
8:53		Eddy Curry drives past Yao along the left baseline to lay it in. Houston TV analyst Calvin Murphy says, "Yao has got to be a little quicker than that. Eddy Curry is not that fast." The Rockets still lead 43-40. The next time the Bulls are on offense, Kelvin Cato is assigned to Curry, and Cato makes him alter his shot to miss badly.
6:17		Yao gets the ball along the right edge of the lane, and he quickly turns and shoots a 6-foot right-handed hook shot...and BANG! That's his third shot from that same spot using the right-hand hook! He's milking it from that area! The Rockets lead 52-40 and are on an 11-3 run since halftime. Yao is now 5-of-10 from the floor and has 14 points.
4:45	Free Throws	Yao runs up the court ahead of everyone, including his own teammates. As Francis dribbles up the court and crosses the half-court line, he whips a pass to Yao as he is approaching the hoop. Yao goes up for a layup, but he is fouled from behind! Give credit to Yao for hustling up the court ahead of everyone, which is rare to see! Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws, and is now 6-for-6 from the line with 16 points. The Rockets lead 56-40.
3:47		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 56-42, and they have outscored the Bulls 15-5 in the quarter.
1:20		Yao checks back into the game for Kelvin Cato. The Rockets lead 58-46.
:34		Francis penetrates into the lane, which brings Eddy Curry over to defend. That leaves Yao wide open and Francis does a great job bouncing a pass to Yao on the right baseline about 5 feet from the basket. Yao catches the pass and GOES TO THE RACK AND THROWS IT DOWN TWO-HANDED, AND LEAVES THE BACKBOARD SHAKING! Yao is now 6-for-11 from the field with 18 points, and Francis racks up his fifth assist. The Rockets lead 62-46, their biggest lead of the night.
4th quarter - The Rockets lead 62-48 after outscoring the Bulls 21-11 in the quarter. The Bulls have missed 32 of 43 shots in the second and third quarters and are shooting 30% overall. Factoid: Chicago is 1-27 this season when trailing entering the fourth quarter.
7:50		Yao checks into the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. The Rockets lead 67-56.
7:34		Yao misses a leaning bank shot about 5 feet to the right side of the rim. The shot looked awkward because he wasn't squared up to the rim when he shot it. He is now 6-for-12 from the field and has 18 points. The Rockets lead 67-56.
4:42		Chicago has taken a 70-69 lead thanks to the hot shooting of Jamal Crawford! The Rockets have blown their 16-point lead from late in the third quarter.
4:29		Needing points badly, Jim Jackson passes the ball from behind the arc to Yao, who is sliding undetected down the left side of the lane. Yao catches it and JAMS IT THROUGH WITH BOTH HANDS! The Rockets needed those points in a big way. Yao is now 7-for-13 from the field with 20 points. Houston leads 71-70.
3:15		Francis passes the ball to Yao on the right edge of the lane. Yao bounces the ball with both hands, then spins and takes a giant step toward the basket on the edge, jumps up and shoots a bank shot off the glass, AND IT SETTLES INTO THE BASKET! THAT WAS A CLUTCH SHOT! The game is tied 75-75! Yao is now 8-for-14 from the field with 22 points.
2:45	Turnover	With the score tied at 75-75, Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the lane guarded by Eddy Curry. The crowd starts yelling in anticipation that Yao can put the Rockets ahead. Yao actually had an opportunity to make an offensive move, but he waited too long and started getting double-teamed, which prompted him to throw a cross-court pass to a teammate...BUT THE PASS IS INTERCEPTED BY EDDIE ROBINSON...AND THE CROWD IS LEFT SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED! Robinson brings the ball down but ends up getting called for a double-dribble. Yao was lucky on that play! That was only his second turnover the game, but it could have been a big one!
1:25	Assist!	With the score tied at 77-77, Yao gets the ball around the same spot as last time. This time he is double-teamed immediately, and Yao sees Cato is left unguarded. Cato is astute and runs into the lane AND YAO SPOTS HIM AND WHIPS A PASS OVER THE DOUBLE-TEAM TO HIM UNDERNEATH THE BASKET, AND CATO CORKSCREWS A SHOT INTO THE BASKET AFTER GETTING FOULED!! THE TOYOTA CENTER CROWD GOES BONKERS! YAO PUMPS HIS FIST ON CATO'S "AND-1" AND WALKS OVER QUICKLY TO HIM, SLAPS HIS HAND AND BUMPS CHESTS WITH HIM SLIGHTLY! Cato makes the free throw, and the Rockets lead 80-77.
:26		With the Rockets leading 80-78, Yao gets the ball just outside the right edge of the lane and is guarded one-on-one by Eddy Curry. Yao can put the game away here, and the crowd is buzzing with anticipation. Yao starts dribbling to make his offensive move into the lane, gets inside the lane and shoots a fallaway jumper...AND MISSES! DAMN! Yao is now 8-for-15 from the field with 22 points, but it won't mean anything if the Rockets lose this game. Houston still leads 80-78.
:12.1		Antonio Davis ties the game at 80-80 by tipping in a missed Eddy Curry shot. It looked like it was offensive goaltending since Davis might have touched the ball while it was in the cylinder, but the refs didn't call it.
0:00	Big shot!	Jim Jackson hits a big shot from the three-point line with no time remaining to win the game 82-80!!! (Jackson's foot was on the line so it only counted as two). All of the Rocket players surround Jackson in a big group hug, including Yao who is all smiles! We're not sure of the execution of this play since you would think the Rockets could have gotten a higher percentage shot, but we'll take the 'W.'