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Yao gets ready to score Sunday afternoon over Dallas' Scott Williams, who tried to draw a charge by flopping on this play. The Rockets finally beat their rivals after 6 consecutive losses, beating the Mavericks 101-98 despite 20 steals by Dallas. Yao scored 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 3 blocks. Click here to see more photos from the game. (Photo courtesy AP).

After Yao hits a big bucket and free throw late in the fourth quarter to put the Rockets ahead by three points against Dallas, Steve Francis hugs him in celebration. Click here to see even more photos from the game. (Photo courtesy Sina.com).

1st quarter
10:16		From near the top of the key, Francis throws a pass to Cato who is cutting toward the basket. Cato catches it underneath the basket, THEN SHOVEL PASSES IT TO YAO IN FRONT OF THE RIM AND YAO THROWS IT DOWN! That was a nifty play that was hard to tell if it was planned or not. We certainly haven't seen it run before. ABC analyst Sean Elliott says, "That's not something you see every day. A big-man-to-big-man pass." The Rockets trail 2-4.
9:55		Yao gets the ball just outside the right edge of the lane along the baseline and immediately shoots a 7-foot jumper over Scott Williams that's good! Simple, but effective. Of course, Toyota Center is lovin' it! Yao is now 2-for-2 from the field with 4 points. The Rockets are tied 4-4.
9:23		On the next Rockets possession, Yao gets the ball again in the same spot. This time he fakes right, then pivots left toward the baseline and shoots another unblockable baseline jumper, AND IT'S GOOD AGAIN! Yao is on fire hitting his first 3 shots for 6 points. The game is tied 6-6.
8:04		From behind the three-point line, Jim Jackson zips the ball to Yao along the left edge of the lane. Yao then just elevates over Scott Williams AND BANKS IT OFF THE GLASS FOR THE BUCKET! THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE! Elliott says humorously, "Right now he's treating the Dallas defenders like they are pylons." Yao now has 8 points in 4 minutes, and is now 4-for-4 from the field. Could this be a career night for Yao? The game is tied 10-10.
7:04		Yao gets the ball just outside the left edge of the lane and makes his way over to the edge by dribbling. He then squares up to the basket and Scott Williams flops to the floor to try to draw a charge, and Yao puts up a shot that misses off the back iron. BUT YAO FOLLOWS UP THE MISS BY GRABBING THE REBOUND IN FRONT OF THE RIM (without even jumping) AND LAYING IT IN WITH THE RIGHT HAND! That's what happens when you try to flop and put yourself out of position to grab a missed shot. Yao is now 5-for-6 from the field with 10 points! The Rockets trail 14-16. ABC analyst Dan Majerle says, "The Rockets have got to go down to him (Yao) every time until Dallas changes their game plan as far as double-teaming...right now it's just one-on-one."
6:32	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball on the right edge of the lane on Scott Williams, then turns into the lane, but this time the Mavericks double-team Yao with Nash, who is called for a foul. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. Yao has now hit 29 consecutive free throws, the longest streak in the league. He now has 12 points. The Rockets trail 16-17.
5:55		From the top of the three-point arc, Francis throws a pass to Yao along the inside edge of the lane on the left side. In one fluid motion, Yao catches the pass and turns toward the basket AND BANKS IT OFF THE GLASS FOR THE DEUCE! Elliott says, "There's nothing you can do about that. He's so big. He catches it that low...he just has to turn around and lay it in." Yao is now 6-for-7 from the field with 14 points! But the Rockets still trail 18-20. That prompts Dallas coach Don Nelson to bring 7'6" center Shawn Bradley off the bench to try to counteract Yao.
3:24		Yao checks out of the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. Yao now has 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and is 2-for-2 from the line. The Rockets lead 23-20.
2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the game is tied 26-26. The Rockets shot 11-of-17 in the quarter, whereas the Mavericks shot 10-of-22. Houston's Jim Jackson was 2-for-3. Unfortunately, Houston had 10 turnovers in the quarter.
11:37		While Yao is on the bench resting, Maurice Taylor puts a chipshot off the glass over Shawn Bradley that misses, BUT CLARENCE WEATHERSPOON COMES FLYING IN FROM THE FREE THROW LINE AND SLAMS IT HOME WITH AUTHORITY! That play brings all of the Rockets bench off their feet, including Yao who belts out a yell and claps his hands with vigor! Yao is really into this game! The Rockets now lead 28-26.
8:48		Yao checks into the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 33-32.
7:22		Jim Jackson shovels a pass to Yao down low on the left side of the bucket, and Yao goes up for a point-blank shot, but he misses it! That's rare for him. Yao is now 6-for-8 from the field with 14 points.
6:16		Yao gets the ball on the right edge of the lane, turns toward the basket and shoots a fallaway jumper over Wiliams again...AND THE SHOT CAROMS HIGH OFF THE GLASS FOR THE BUCKET! Yao is now 7-of-9 from the field with 16 points. The Rockets lead 40-34.
5:35		Yao grabs a deflected pass outside the left edge of the lane that was thrown to him from Mark Jackson. Yao immediately bolts toward the hoop without dribbling and he tries a difficult reverse layup from underneath the rim, but the ball hits the bottom of the rim. This was a tough shot for Yao given that he was so far away from the basket and decided not to dribble to get to it. Unfortunately, the ABC commentators (Elliott, Majerle) give Yao a hard time for trying a reverse layup for being "scared" of Steve Nash. That is not the case whatsoever. It is clear from the replay that Yao was attempting a reverse layup all the way. And Nash wasn't the Maverick in the vicinity: it was Antoine Walker. Without Bill Walton commentating, these commentators seem to go unchecked when they talk about Yao.
4:05		Yao gets the ball on the right edge of the lane with Scott Williams guarding him one-on-one. He then spins baseline and puts up a fallaway jumper...AND IT HITS NOTHING BUT THE BOTTOM OF THE NET! Yao is so automatic from that location now! He now has 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and the Rockets lead 46-38.
3:35		Yao gets the ball at about the exact same spot as the last play on Scott Williams and spins baseline again, but this time he misses. Yao is human from that spot after all! He is now 8-for-12 with 18 points.
3:08		Yao checks out of the game for Kelvin Cato. The Rockets lead 46-40.
1:40		Yao gets the ball on the inside edge of the lane on the right side, and Najera is guarding him. Yao turns toward the basket to put up a jumper, and Najera flops (again) to try do draw the foul, but fortunately the refs don't buy it! Unfortunately, the shot misses off the glass. However, it was nice to see Najera go down and not get away with it. He did that the last time the Rockets played, and the refs bought it. Yao is now 8-for-13 from the field with 18 points. The Rockets lead 48-45.
1:01		On a pick-and-roll, Yao sets a pick for Mobley near the three-point line on the right side of the court. As Mobley comes around the pick, Yao heads toward the basket AND MOBLEY PASSES HIM THE BALL AT THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE LANE. YAO THEN ELEVATES AND THROWS IT DOWN WITH THE RIGHT HAND OVER NOWITZKI!! TOYOTA CENTER ERUPTS!!! Sean Elliott says, "Imagine a billion posters of Yao Ming throwing it down on you. No one wants to have their picture in a Chinese shop somewhere getting dunked on!" Yao now has 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. The Rockets lead 50-45.
Halftime - At halftime, the Rockets lead 50-47. The Rockets had 15 turnovers in the first half. Yao has 20 points (the most he has ever had at halftime, breaking his record set Friday) and is shooting 9-for-14 from the field in 17 minutes of play. Houston shot 54% from the field, and Dallas shot 44%. Houston had 15 assists and Dallas had 8.
7:11		Yao gets the ball in the middle of the lane guarded one-on-one by Scott Williams. Yao then dribbles to the right of the basket and puts up a jump hook over Williams...AND SCORE IT! Yao is torching Williams! He now has 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting. The Rockets lead 60-56.
6:23		From the free throw line, Francis bounces a pass to Yao in front of the basket and Yao goes up for a shot, but Antawn Jamison skies high and gets his hand on the ball, and Michael Finley elevates to knock it away! Great play by Jamison and Finley. Sometimes it takes two guys to stop Yao. Yao is now 10-of-16 from the field with 22 points.
6:06	Intimidation	Antawn Jamison gets the ball on the left baseline and prepares to put a running one-handed jumper, but Yao comes over to make him alter his shot, and he misses! After a wild scramble for the ball, Yao comes up with it and the Houston crowd roars its appeciation of Yao's effort!
5:15		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. The Rockets lead 61-58.
4:52		With 5 seconds left on the shot clock, Francis drives into the lane between Najera and Nowitzki, goes airborne and puts up a wild left-handed shot from the left edge of the lane. The ball bounces high off the glass and goes in! Unbelievable shot! That play will be on all the highlight reel plays this year. Francis is one of the few guys in the league who is gutsy (or crazy) enough to put up a shot like that and live with the consequences if he doesn't make it. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. Regardless, the Rockets lead 63-58. Francis has 8 points in the game.
3:15		Yao checks back into the game for Kelvin Cato. Houston leads 68-62.
:29.5		Eduardo Najera drives into the lane and challenges Yao at the rim, AND YAO IS UP TO THE CHALLENGE AND GETS A HAND ON THE BALL AT THE TOP OF NAJERA'S JUMP FOR THE BLOCK! Unfortunately, the ball comes down to Josh Howard and Yao fouls him. That's only Yao's second foul, though. Howard makes the second free throw, and Houston leads 70-68.
4th quarter - At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets lead 70-68. The third quarter was closely contested with Dallas outscoring Houston 21-20. The Mavericks were 7-of-19 from the field, and the Rockets were 7-of-18.
8:38		From the three-point line, Maurice Taylor dribbles past Nowitzki down the left edge of the lane and dumps a pass off to Yao on the right wing about 18 feet away. With the shot clock down to three seconds, YAO SQUARES UP AND SWISHES A JUMPER TO PUT HOUSTON AHEAD 76-70! Yao is now 11-of-17 with 24 points.
6:56		With the Rockets leading 76-73, Francis lobs a pass to Yao on the right side of the court, but he passes it too weak and out of Yao's reach. Najera comes around and steals it which leads to a slam dunk for Dallas in transition! That play wasn't all of Yao's fault, though. Francis gets assessed his fifth turnover of the game. But Yao didn't really go after it, either. Instead, Yao tried to fake getting fouled once he realized he wasn't going to be able to get that pass. The Mavericks now only trail 75-76.
5:58		Steve Nash drives into the middle of the lane and dumps a pass off to Najera on the baseline to the right of the rim. Najera goes up for a layup, but Yao is able to come over and block his shot! The ball comes down to Najera right underneath the basket and he goes up for another layup attempt and double clutches the ball, BUT YAO BLOCKS HIM ONCE AGAIN! That's the first time this year I've seen Yao get two blocks on the same player within two seconds of each other! That's Yao's second and third block of the game. After the ball gets tipped around and the Mavericks swing it around the horn, they end up scoring on the possession. That makes the score Rockets 78, Mavericks 77.
5:09	Wow!	With the Rockets leading 80-77, Francis drives down the right baseline, elevates about 4 feet from the basket, sheds off a Najera block attempt in mid-air (Najera's arm actually grazes his head), then while in mid-air Francis brings the ball underneath the basket and as he is falling to the court throws a two-handed shot off the glass for the bucket! That's about as 'Jordanesque' as they come. YAO'S PARENTS ACTUALLY REACT WITH SMILES AND LOUD APPLAUSE IN AMAZEMENT OF WHAT THEY JUST SAW! That's the most emotion I have seen from them EVER! Kudos to Francis for bringing out that kind of response! That play puts the Rockets up 82-77.
4:40	Wow again!	Francis tries to throw the ball down to Weatherspoon on the right block, but the ball gets deflected. Mobley grabs the loose ball, starts dribbling toward the basket, then puts on a wicked crossover move on Najera to get into the lane, then Mobley cuts hard to the basket, splits between Nowitzki and Najera to jump toward the basket, extends his right arm for a shot off the glass that goes in! Wow, the Houston guards are really stepping up with some spectacular plays here in the fourth quarter. That score puts the Rockets ahead 84-77.
2:34		With the Rockets up 86-80, Mobley tips the ball away from Michael Finley for a huge steal, and the ball comes to Francis who starts a fast break. Francis gets all the way to the hole on Steve Nash and puts up a shot off the glass which misses, BUT JIM JACKSON IS TRAILING BEHIND, GRABS THE REBOUND IN MID-AIR AND BANKS IT OFF THE GLASS FOR THE SCORE! Great effort by Mobley, Francis and Jackson all in the same play. The Rockets now lead 88-80.
1:24		With the Rockets leading 90-85, Steve Nash goes up for a three-pointer that can tie it. He misses the shot, but Francis is called for a foul on Nash, which means 3 free throws that can tie the game! Looking at the replay, Nash had stuck his foot out to get Francis to run into it, and the ref bought it! That is one of the worst calls I have ever seen! And it's happening at such a crucial part of the game! Nash makes all 3 free throws, and the Rockets now only lead 90-88.
:44.8		With the game tied at 90-90, Jim Jackson drives toward the basket from the left side of the court and puts up a wild running jumper that bounces high off the back iron, BUT YAO IS ABLE TO EXTEND HIMSELF FULLY TO GET A FINGER ON THE BALL HIGH ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE, TIP IT TOWARD THE BASKET, AND IT GOES IN! WHAT A CLUTCH BASKET AND BEAUTIFUL TOUCH SHOWN BY YAO! He is now 12-of-18 from the field with 26 points.
:15.4		With the game tied 92-92, Francis dribbles in a couple of steps from the three-point line, pulls up, sheds off Steve Nash who flies by him, then FRANCIS LOBS A PASS TO YAO ON THE LEFT EDGE OF THE LANE ALONG THE BASELINE, AND YAO REACHES HIGH FOR IT, GATHERS IT IN, AND WITH 3 MAVERICKS AROUND HIM, HE GOES UP AND LAYS IT OFF THE GLASS FOR THE BUCKET, AND HE'S FOULED!! YAO PUMPS HIS FIST DOWN TOWARD THE GROUND ON THE 'AND-1' THEN BELTS OUT A YELL WITH BOTH FISTS CLENCHED! If the Rockets win this game, that has to be one of the biggest buckets of Yao's career! And the crazy thing is that Najera might have tipped that ball when Francis threw it so that it went higher than desired, but Yao was tall enough to grab it! Yao goes to the line and makes the free throw, and Toyota Center is euphoric! He is now 13-of-19 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line with 29 points. After Yao makes the free throw and the Rockets are headed to the bench during the timeout, Steve Francis jumps into Yao's arms with both of them full of emotion! Yao checks out of the game on the ensuing inbounds play for Dallas.
:11.0		On the Dallas inbounds play, JIM JACKSON STEALS THE BALL, AND YAO REACTS WITH BOTH ARMS OVER HIS HEAD SCREAMING LOUDER THAN HELL! Francis is fouled as he gets the ball down the court. With Houston up by three points (95-92), Francis goes to the line and misses the first free throw! Oh no! Sean Elliott points out, "How often do you have your center (Yao) shooting a better free throw percentage than your point guard?" Francis makes the second free throw that puts the Rockets up 96-92. The rest of the game turns into a free throw shooting contest as the Rockets are intentionally fouled several times, and they make most of them and win 101-98. Yao finishes the game with 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting, 3-for-3 from the line, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks!