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Yao gets fouled by 6'9" New Orleans forward David West on Thursday night. The Rockets defeated the Hornets 97-86 to win their fourth game in a row, equaling a season-high. Yao scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Cuttino Mobley scored 31 points, his highest point total since December 3rd. To see more photos from the game, click here. (Photo courtesy AP).

1st quarter
11:32		Kelvin Cato shoots a jumper that rattles inside the rim and falls out, BUT YAO GRABS THE REBOUND BY WRESTLING THE BALL AWAY FROM JAMAAL MAGLOIRE TO THE LEFT OF THE BASKET, JUMPS UP AND BANKS IT OFF THE GLASS FOR THE SCORE! Yao showed some nice strength on that rebound, and was able to ignore Magloire's left arm as it got tangled up in his arms. The Rockets lead 2-0.
10:59		From the three-point line, Steve Francis passes the ball to Yao on the inside edge of the left side of the lane, turns to the middle of the lane guarded by Magloire and launches a right-handed jump hook over Magloire...and SWISH! The 7-foot Magloire didn't even try to contest that shot because he knew there was no way he could block it! Yao is now 2-for-2 from the field and the Rockets lead 4-0.
10:08		Magloire gets the ball on the right edge of the lane, turns into the middle of the lane to attempt a shot, but Kelvin Cato is there to make him hesitate on his shot. After Magloire stops in front of the rim, he gathers himself and elevates up to put a shot over Cato, BUT YAO COMES FROM BEHIND TO HELP OUT CATO AND BLOCK MAGLOIRE'S SHOT! You can't hesitate too long in the lane or Yao will come over to block it!
9:24		Yao launches a right-handed jump hook from the right edge of the lane over Robert Traylor, but he misses. Yao is now 1-for-3 from the field with 4 points.
7:30		After picking up his second personal foul, Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 12-9. Yao has four points on 1-of-3 shooting.
2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the game is tied 21-21. Houston shot 8-of-17 in the quarter, and the Hornets shot 8-of-21. New Orleans' Baron Davis has 9 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Unfortunately, Houston turned the ball over 7 times.
8:32		Yao checks into the game for Maurice Taylor. Houston leads 26-21.
4:46		P.J. Brown gets the ball in front of the rim with Yao right in front of him. Brown puts up a tough left-handed hook shot over Yao which misses badly, but Yao gets credit for a block although he didn't seem to touch the ball. Yao's presence was so ominous, it made Brown drastically change the trajectory of his shot as Yao went up to swat it away. That is Yao's second block of the game, and he also gets credit for a rebound all on the same play. The Rockets lead 36-28.
3:42		Yao gets the ball a couple of feet outside the left edge of the lane. He then pivots toward the baseline, then hesitates on his man Magloire. While he holds the ball, Magloire jumps up and down trying to contest the shot Yao is about to put up, but there's no way he can even come close to blocking it. It's funny to watch him jump up -- it reminds you of a basketball commercial where a little kid tries to block an NBA player's shot. Anyhow, Yao goes over the top of Magloire by putting up a jump shot from the left baseline, and it's good! Yao is now 3-for-4 from the field with 6 points. The Rockets lead 40-29.
2:56		Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the lane near the baseline, then pivots away from Magloire down the edge of the lane and launches a fallaway jumper over him, and it's good again! TNT analyst Doug Collins says, "Magloire is just too small to play him. I mean, Magloire is 7'1" and he just takes the ball and shoots right over the top of him...this guy can really shoot the basketball. He catches it down there, he's going to make 8 out of 10 shots." Yao is now 4-for-5 from the field with 8 points. The Rockets lead 42-29.
2:16	Foul	Yao gets called for a personal foul on a rebound by Jamaal Magliore, but it's very questionable if he actually fouled him. Regardless, Yao has to go to the bench with his third personal foul. He checks out for Kelvin Cato. The Rockets lead 43-31.
Halftime - At the end of the second quarter, the Rockets lead 49-34. Houston shot 11-of-18 from the floor in the quarter (54% for the half), and New Orleans shot 5-of-20 in the quarter (32% overall). Cuttino Mobley scored 13 points in the second quarter (3-of-4 three pointers), and he scored all of those points in a row! Kelvin Cato blocked two shots in a row spectacularly near the end of the second quarter.
3rd Quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
11:27		Yao misses a right-handed hook shot from the left edge of the lane. He is now 4-for-6 from the field with 8 points, and the Rockets lead 49-36.
10:37		Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the lane, then pivots into the lane, pump fakes on P.J. Brown, then jumps into the air, hesitates while in mid-air, then on the way down shoots a bank shot that goes in! What a thing of beauty! Yao is now 5-for-7 from the field with 10 points. The Rockets lead 53-36.
5:29		After a missed Kelvin Cato jumper, Yao grabs a rebound in front of the rim and goes up for a shot, but it's blocked (supposedly) by P.J. Brown. Yao looks at the ref asking for a foul to be called, and Van Gundy is absolutely furious at the ref for not calling a foul. Yao is now 5-for-8 from the field with 10 points.
5:05		Kelvin Cato throws a pass from just inside the free throw line to Yao underneath the basket, and Yao goes up and slams it home two-handed for the dunk! Yao is now 6-of-9 from the field with 12 points.
3:47	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball in the middle of the lane and is fouled by P.J. Brown. So Yao goes to the line and misses both free throws! When is the last time that has happened? He is now 0-for-2 from the line, but he does have 12 points.
2:39		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 69-54.
4th Quarter - At the end of three quarters, the Rockets lead 73-56. Cuttino Mobley continued to shoot well, scoring 10 more points in the third quarter on 3-of-5 shooting.
9:22		Yao checks into the game for Cato. The Rockets lead 78-59.
9:07		Yao misses a jump hook on the right edge of the lane. He is now 6-for-10 from the field. The Rockets still lead 78-59.
5:16		Yao misses a fadeaway jumper from the left edge of the lane. He is now 6-for-11 from the field. The Rockets still lead 80-67. Houston is now only 2-for-11 in the quarter.
3:59	+ Free Throw	Yao gets the ball on the right edge of the lane guarded one-on-one by Magloire. He then fakes one way, then pivots toward the baseline and puts up a 6-foot fallaway jumper...AND HE HITS IT, AND HE'S FOULED! Big bucket by Yao since that breaks a 10-2 run by the Hornets, and puts the Rockets up 82-69! Yao makes the free throw, and he is now 7-for-12 with 14 points.
1:33	Free Throws	Yao grabs a defensive rebound in front of the Hornets' rim, and he is fouled. He goes to the line and makes both free throws. The Rockets now lead 90-77.
1:00		Yao checks out of the game for Adrian Griffin. The Rockets lead 93-83. After Scott Padgett misses two free throws and Steve Smith hits a three-pointer, the Rockets only lead 93-86. This completes a 9-1 run by New Orleans that made things interesting at the end of the game.
:50		Yao checks back into the game for Adrian Griffin. The Rockets lead 93-86, and hold on to win 97-86. Yao finishes with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from the line, has 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.