Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady enjoy some well-deserved time on the bench during an impressive 124-74 blowout of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. Yao had another double-double (24 points, 13 boards), and T-Mac had 21 points and 8 assists. Click here for more photos from the game.

There is absolutely nothing I can complain about in Houston’s 50-point whipping of the Philadelphia 76ers. If anything, it brings more attention around the league – including in Dallas and Phoenix — that the Rockets will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.

Philadelphia has been no slouch lately. They had won 8 of their last 9 games at home, including victories over the Jazz, the Lakers, Sonics, Nets, and Suns. So you have to give Rockets to the credit for beating a respectable team of late. It was the Rockets’ largest road victory and their second-largest margin of victory, with a 52-point victory coming in 1978.

Check out these other unbelievable numbers: a 54-36 rebounding advantage, a 54-8 advantage of points in the paint, a 29-10 difference in assists, an 11-4 advantage in 3-pointers, and only 7 turnovers for the Rockets.

What’s interesting is that you would expect a player like Yao or T-Mac to have monster numbers, like 35 points or more. Not so. Yao had a respectable 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, and 10 boards in just 26 minutes. T-Mac “only” had 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting in 28 minutes.

The key was that the Rockets role players chipped in with solid contributions across the board. Luther Head had 13 points, Rafer Alston had 9, Juwan Howard had 11 points and 10 boards, and Chuck Hayes had 12 points and 13 boards.

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Yao Ming gets ready to throw one down Friday night in Toronto after a beautiful T-Mac pass to him down low. Yao started off slow, but ended up having a great night, finishing with 23 points and grabbing 12 boards in a 114-100 victory. Click here for more photos from the game.

Many times Jeff Van Gundy will say that getting payback against a team should not be a motivating factor for teams. Instead, a game should be played without much regard for what has happened in the past, but to do what is expected of you and focus on the task at hand. That may be true. But it’s hard to believe that was all that was involved with what we saw Friday night for the Rockets in Toronto.

Here are the facts. Tracy McGrady had another outstanding game against his former team (22 points, 6 rebounds 5 assists), the team he averages the most points against.

Rafer Alston almost had a triple-double (23 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds) against the team that traded him before the start of last season (if he keeps playing like this, the rest of the league should watch out–the Rockets will be title contenders. But that’s a big ‘IF’).

And Houston came out fast in the first quarter and built a huge 22-point lead in the first half, making a statement against the same Raptor team that had spanked the Rockets 106-90 on February 28th in Houston. This time it was the Rockets’ turn, beating Toronto 114-100 in their own gym.

And this isn’t the first example of the Rockets getting payback. Just 9 days ago on March 7th, the Rockets came out with a vengeance against Boston to redeem themselves for a collapse against the Celtics eight days prior.

Another reason was because this was the first time Yao Ming had the opportunity to inflict pain on the Raptors in over two years, with the Raptors having won all 3 of those games since. Yao didn’t score the 40 points or grab 10 boards like he did on December 20th, 2004. But he did get a double-double in this one, scoring 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting, and grabbed 12 boards.

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Yao Ming prepares to make a strong move against the Clippers’ Elton Brand Wednesday night. Yao scored 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting and grabbed 6 boards…nothing special statistically. But his presence down low continued to open up opportunities for other Rocket players, and he had a key steal late in the game to help pull out a clutch win, 109-105. Click here for more photos from the game.

The Rockets blew a big lead again, this time Wednesday night against the Clippers. We’ve become accustomed to that this season. The difference this time around was that the Rockets maintained their composure and pulled out a victory in a game I thought they were going to lose. And they did it with a bevy of big plays down the stretch as the Rockets recovered from a 3-point deficit with 1:23 remaining.

First, after popping a wicked crossover that got him some daylight, T-Mac shot a jumper at the top of the key, which I thought was an ill-advised shot since I think he could have gotten a higher percentage one. But he drained it to make it 103-102, Clippers leading by one.

Then on the very next Clipper possession, Rafer Alston had the biggest steal I have ever seen him get in his career. He stripped Daniel Ewing of the ball, drove it to the hoop and scored a layup at a somewhat difficult angle with 1:12 remaining in the game. That gave the Rockets the lead at 104-103, and Toyota Center erupted!

That kind of thing just doesn’t happen to the Rockets, and doesn’t happen much in an NBA game for that matter. A steal to take the lead late in a game like that? I have bashed Rafer in the past, but I have to give him lot of credit on that steal.

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Yao Ming blocks the shot of Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire Monday night on a night where Yao made only 1-of-9 shots, scored 10 points and grabbed 8 boards. But the officials also ripped him off in the pivotal fourth quarter, thwarting a comeback attempt that led to a big Rockets loss, 102-83. Click here for more photos from the game.

This may sound like sour grapes. Sure, the Rockets lost 102-83 against the Suns on Monday night. No surprise. They had lost 5 games in a row to the Suns (now six). The Suns are awesome. It was the second night of a back-to-back for the Rockets. But Yao was robbed by the refs in the fourth quarter when the Rockets still had a chance to come back.

The Rockets were down only 78-71 after a Shane Battier 3-pointer with 10:07 remaining. Leandro Barbosa responded with a trey to make it 81-71, and that’s when the bottom started to fall out in the most distressed series of minutes I’ve seen Yao go through.

On the following possession, Yao went up for an easy layup, and Kurt Thomas brazenly went up to block his shot with no regard to caring if he was going to be called for a foul. Thomas hit Yao on the wrist, then got ball, and the ref didn’t call a foul. Is that what this game has turned into where you can get away with hard contact if you go up against a much bigger guy? Remember earlier in the season when Nate Robinson “blocked” Yao, drew blood, and no foul was called.

Thomas’ “block” wasn’t the first time that Yao was robbed in the game. Earlier in the game, Shawn Marion also got Yao’s wrist on a shot attempt with no foul being called.

Luckily after Thomas’ “block,” the ball went out of bounds, and on the very next play, the same exact thing happened! Thomas not only hacked Yao on the wrist on a layup attempt, but he went over his back to do it! Again, the same ref called nothing and let play continue! Yao reacted by throwing his fist in disgust, and for good reason!

I wish Yao had done more than that to draw a technical to get the refs attention. It was obvious that these refs had a bias against Yao because of his size. Just because he’s bigger and layups are easier for him, they let defenders get away with murder.

A couple of plays later, the same ref called Yao for a three-second violation. It might have been legit. I don’t know. I know for sure he had one foot in the paint, and one foot out of it right before the ref blew the whistle. Not sure if that means he’s still in the paint (I think it does), but it was obvious the ref was watching Yao much more closely than other players.

Yao’s disastrous episode with the refs wasn’t over. On the next Houston possession, Yao was called for a moving screen, which was a legitimate call. But obviously it wasn’t Yao’s night.

Then two possessions later, the worst call ever came against Yao. He was called for another 3-second violation when clearly he came out of the paint with BOTH feet long before the ref blew the whistle and well within 3 seconds. What the hell is going on here?

On the next possession, Barbosa scored to make it 87-73 with 7:20 remaining in the game, and that was about the end of it as the Suns had the momentum they needed to blow the game wide open.

I can handle the Rockets losing to the Suns. I can handle Tracy McGrady having an off night and making only 8-of-28 shots for 19 points. Or even Luther Head and Rafer Alston combining for 8-of-27 shooting.

But I can’t take Yao being singled out because of his size such that other players know there’s a good chance no foul will get called when they go up to hit Yao on the wrist. The Rockets will have no chance if that continues to happen.

All I know is that Ronnie Nunn (Director of NBA Officials) better get his refs in gear on how they call games when Yao is playing, or this sport will become a farce.

Yao lays in two of his 37 points Sunday night against the Orlando Magic in a 103-92 win in Houston. Yao showed he is back to his dominating self, hitting 14-of-22 shots, 9-of-11 free throws, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 assists for the Rockets’ third victory in a row. Click here for more photos from Yao’s pre-game practice and the game.

All the questions about Yao Ming not being back to his regular self were officially put to rest Sunday night against Orlando in a 103-92 victory. Yao had his best game since coming back from his injury 4 games ago starting March 15th.

This time Yao scored 37 points on an efficient 14-of-22 shooting. Although several of those shots came from T-Mac finding Yao on passes for easy dunk shots, several of those buckets were made on tough hook shots, including some on the baseline using his left hand. His exceptional performance also came against a tough match-up against Eastern Conference All-Star Dwight Howard.

Yao made all four of his shots in the first quarter, but picked up his second foul with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter with the Rockets leading 16-7.

That’s when Dwight Howard went to work, getting 3 dunks on 3 shot attempts over the next 7 ½ minutes. When Yao checked back into the game with 9:48 remaining in the second quarter, the Rockets 9-point lead had been cut to four: 33-29.

But the Rockets opened up a 16-point lead in the second thanks to better defense, including one play with a little over a minute remaining when Howard went to the rack and Yao took it out of his hands while he was in mid-air!

From that point until halftime, Yao duplicated his first quarter performance, scoring 8 points, including a couple of easy layups coming off T-Mac dishes. Yao himself had 3 assists in the second quarter.

By halftime, the Rockets were comfortably ahead 58-45 and had shot 69% in the first half.

T-Mac had 12 points and 3-of-3 shooting from Shane Battier (all three-pointers) and 4-of-4 makes from Juwan Howard.

Yao piled on 10 more points in the third quarter, which included making 4-of-4 free throws. T-Mac made only 1-of-6 shots in the third, but still the Rockets padded their lead by 5 points (83-66) heading into the fourth.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Rockets opened up their biggest lead — 21 points — and by that time, he had scored 30 points in 30 minutes. Not bad efficiency, huh?

But like in any NBA game, a team will make a run, and the Magic were no exception. With 5:41 remaining, the Magic had cut the deficit to 12 points with the Rockets struggling to make their shot. I just had to think, “Would there be another Boston game-like collapse?”

That question was answered about a minute later when Yao’s shot was blocked down low by Darko Milicic, but Shane Battier tapped the loose ball to T-Mac behind the three-point line, who proceeded to swish a trey to make it 94-79, and that was the ballgame.

Convincing as the win was, it’s surprising that Luther Head didn’t score (0-for-4 shooting), Rafer Alston scored only 5, and T-Mac only scored 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting. But he did have 10 assists to make up for it.

Now the Rockets head to Phoenix for a back-to-back against the scary Suns. We all know how that game is going to turn out, but at least Yao will create some fits now that it seems he’s back to his pre-injury self.

Yao battled New Jersey’s Jason Collins Friday night with two fingers wrapped together because of his middle finger being dislocated Wednesday night in the Boston game. The tape on his fingers didn’t inhibit Yao at all since he scored 24 points, made 6-of-11 shots, hit 12-of-13 free throws, and grabbed 13 boards in 30 minutes for the Rockets’ second convincing win in a row. Meanwhile, Collins scored 0 points and grabbed two boards in 12 minutes of play. Click here, here and here for more photos from the game.

The dismal games the Rockets played right before Yao Ming came back from his injury are quickly becoming a distant memory. They put the ‘pedal to the metal’ late in the third quarter and early in the fourth on a 15-0 run to put away the pesky New Jersey Nets, cruising to a 112-91 win. That’s two games in row where the Rockets have scored 111 points or more (they had 111 against Boston Wednesday night).

Yao is starting to hit his stride very quickly, having his best game since coming back 3 games ago. In just 30 minutes of play, Yao scored 24 points (6-of-11 shooting) and grabbed 13 boards. And let’s not forget about that wonderful free throw shooting stroke, the not-much-talked-about part of his game. He was 12-of-13 from the line. Those numbers just send chills down my spine. What a weapon.

It’s hard to believe that one player like Yao can increase the Rockets’ scoring average so much, even when he’s playing only 30 minutes a game. But that’s what is happening as Yao makes things so much easier for everyone, including Tracy McGrady.

T-Mac scored 34 points in 34 minutes, dished 5 dimes, and he’s loving Yao’s return back in the lineup.

“It’s good having another guy the defense can key on,” McGrady said. “We have a low-post presence, something we’ve been missing for two months. It’s great to have him back. For us to win in the playoffs, we’re going to have to have that. He’s progressing every game.”

But just like the minor injury Yao had with his dislocated middle finger in Boston, he experienced another minor injury Friday night. This time to his thigh.

“I got hit in the first half,” Yao said. “The deep muscle had a burning feeling. It felt weird. In the second half, as time is going on, I’m not overthinking it. In the second half I had a one-time sprint and I had to stretch a little bit and the lead was at about 20, and I felt I wanted to go to the bench and get it checked a little bit. It’s fine. That’s experience I learned from last year. If you have anything, check it.”

Yao did come back into the game in the fourth quarter, really just to get more conditioning since the game was very much under control. You gotta love the Big Guy. He could have easily sat out and taken the rest of the evening off, but he’s looking to take advantage of game situations and get his reps in. Great example of why he’s considered one of the hardest working guys in the NBA.

The Rocket who is under the radar and starting to impress me again is Chuck Hayes. Clearly being the beneficiary of Yao and T-Mac being in the lineup, he scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shots, with some of those buckets coming on beautiful, athletic plays in the paint! What has gotten into this guy? He’s suddenly becoming an offensive force. He also grabbed 7 boards.

Luther Head (10 points) and Rafer Alston (12 points) are also benefiting from Yao’s presence down low. Alston hit 4-of-9 three-pointers, and Head made 2-of-3 treys.

Finally, with these past two blowout wins, guys at the end of the bench like John Lucas, Steve Novak, Billy Spanoulis, and Jake Tsakalidas are getting a few minutes of playing time. Funny how one guy can make such a difference. You don’t hear much about the Rockets not needing Yao now.

I would like to welcome to YaoMania! a friend of mine who has offered to provide some of his thoughts about Yao and the Rockets. His name is Tim T., and here’s his thoughts about Yao’s game against the Celtics last night.

Timing. It’s all about timing in this league. Yao Ming, in just his second game back from injuring his knee, doesn’t quite have his timing back yet. 11 points and 5 boards in just 19 minutes, Yao had a sub-par game against the lowly Boston Celtics. In every Yao-fan’s mind, there was some hope that Yao would come back with a bang. The Rockets were doing excellent in his absence, 20-12, and any wishful thinker probably believed Yao’s return would only catapult the currently seeded 5th best team in the West ahead into the top echelon of the NBA. But that will have to take time.

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Yao gets ready to shoot over Boston’s Michael Olowokandi Wednesday night. Yao finished with 11 points and 5 boards in a blowout victory over Boston, 111-80, to avenge their disappointing loss last week. Click here for photos from the game.

I love how the Rockets made a statement and blew out the Celtics 111-80 in Boston after that disheartening loss in Houston 9 days ago. Good job, Rox. Yao scored 11 and grabbed 5 boards, and only 1 turnover. Tracy McGrady scored 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting, but he had 6 TO’s.

Overall the Rockets shot 51.3% and made 15-of-28 three-pointers on an amazing 53.6% shooting. Yes, they shot better from behind the arc than inside it. Live by the three, die by the three. Tonight they lived it to the fullest.

Meanwhile the Celtics shot 35.9% and were 1-of-9 from three-point land.

When Yao scored his first bucket on a strong move in the middle of the paint, and later swatted Delonte West’s layup attempt with authority, the Boston crowd – with a large contingent of Asian-Americans who come to see Yao every year – ooohed and aahhed loudly. Nice to see he still draws his fans when on the road.

Yao would have scored more if the game hadn’t been a blowout (31 point lead at one point) and if he hadn’t dislocated his finger on a Michael Olowokandi dunk attempt. After the game, Yao said, “It’s fine. It’s fine. I will not miss 10 weeks or something.”

After the injury, useless Boston announcer Tom Heinsohn said, “That was his chopstick finger, too! He may not be able to eat any more!” Yeah, right.

The Rockets crisp passing for open shots was impressive – the best I have seen all year. They finished with heir highest number of assists this season: 31 assists on 40 field goals! They also had 12 steals.

Shane Battier was fantastic from behind the arc, hitting 5-of-11 three pointers for 15 points. They were a direct result of great passes for wide open shots.

Chuck Hayes played one of his best games as a Rocket, hustling for 11 boards and 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Rafer Alston shot well, hitting 5-of-9 shots for 14 points. And Juwan Howard was 6-of-10 for 12 points.

Now if the Rockets could just take this game and bottle it for the rest of the season and playoffs, you won’t hear me complain at all, except for stupid remarks by opposing teams’ announcers.

Yao throws one down in Cleveland Monday night in his first game back from a leg injury in 32 games. He scored 16 points, grabbed 11 boards and blocked two shots, but a controversial no-call against him was the deciding factor in a 91-85 loss. Click here for photos from Yao’s pre-game activities, and here and here for photos from the game.

As great as it was to see Yao Ming return to the court Monday night and score 16 points, grab 11 boards, and block 2 shots (close to my prediction of 17 points, 9 boards and 2 blocks), it also brought back some not-so-great memories – seeing Yao get physically abused and the refs not calling fouls against his defender(s).

It happened again in Cleveland, this time in a crucial part of the game. The score was tight: 86-82 on the Rockets’ end of the court with 1:02 remaining. Yao had grabbed a long rebound around the free throw line, took one dribble toward an undefended basket, and had a great chance of scoring.

That’s when Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas threw his body in front of Yao with a half-hearted attempt to swipe the ball away. Ilgauskas fell to the floor in front of Yao in what the Cleveland TV announcer described as an NFL-like “chop block” (which is illegal, by the way), and forced Yao to topple to the court and lose possession of the ball. Thank God that Yao was able to fall and avoid landing on his rehabilitated knee.

However, no foul was called. Instead, play continued, Cleveland pushed the ball up the court and LeBron James capped off the fast break with an alley-oop slam to make the score 88-82 with 57 seconds remaining, which was too big of a deficit for the Rockets to overcome.

It’s only fitting that Yao’s return to action would remind us of how little respect he still gets from the refs. Yao even said after the game that it was a bad no-call, but he wasn’t going to contest it because he knew the team couldn’t afford for him to get a technical foul. That no-call was incompetence at its finest. Just as ridiculous was LeBron saying after the game that “it was a great steal.”

I’m so frustrated, I could rant for paragraphs about it, but I’ll move on.

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