Yao Ming elevates to throw down a massive dunk over New York’s Malik Rose on his way to scoring 36 points on 14-of-21 shooting, 7-of-8 from the line, and 11 rebounds to lead Houston to a 101-92 victory over the Knicks. Click here for more photos from the game.

If you’re a Yao Ming fan, it doesn’t get much better than what you saw Wednesday night. Yao had a monstrous game against the Knicks, scoring on some very aggressive dunks and racking up 36 points on 14-of-21 shooting, and grabbed 11 boards to lead the Rockets to a 101-92 victory in the Big Apple, their fourth win in a row.

He had a couple of thunderous throw-downs, including one type I’ve never seen him do. With about 3 minutes left in the third quarter, he got the ball just inside the 3-point line, then he DRIBBLED IT once into the lane, took two huge steps toward the rack, and THREW IT DOWN on Malik Rose. To add insult to injury, Rose was called for blocking because he was inside the restricted circle. An amazing play to witness to see Yao take it to the rack from that far away, especially if you watched in HD like I was lucky to have done.

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Here’s a good article that chronicles the problems with the Rockets this year, although Rafer Alston is improving before our eyes, and Aaron Brooks has emerged as a threat.

I like how Tracy McGrady said upon his return to the rotation, “Don’t change your game when I’m out there.” However, I find it interesting that he says that when he’s in the game, all the other guys have to do is knock down shots. Easier said than done. I don’t think we want an offense predicated on guys hitting jump shots. It’s clear how much more effective the offense is when EVERYONE attacks the basket rather than just relying on jump shots, which can come-and-go.

Raymond has done a great job translating this short article from Titan Sports about how Yao and his teammates expect Tracy McGrady to fit in with the Rockets’ improved offense, not the other way around. Keep in mind that I can’t vouch for the accuracy of some of Yao’s reported statements. Raymond is just translating what is being reported over in China by a writer living in Houston who is assigned to cover Yao and the Rockets.

Yao Ming shoots over Antawn Jamison on Tuesday night in a 92-84 win over the Washington Wizards. Yao scored 21 points and Luther Head added 24 to help the Rockets win their third straight game. Click here for more photos from the game.

It’s kind of strange to write about a Rockets win on the road that came fairly easily, this time in Washington against the Wizards. The Rockets won 92-84 in a game where they led by as much as 14 points. Sure, it got close at times, but the Rockets always found a way to keep the Wizards at arms length most of the way. Their defense was fantastic, holding them to just 41% shooting, and the out-rebounded them 46-28.

Luther Head (24 points) and Yao Ming (21) scored 45 of the Rockets’ 92 points. Half of Luther’s points came on 3-pointers, hitting 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

This came only one game after it looked like he might be the odd man out with Aaron Brooks‘ emergence as a legitimate scoring threat. Brooks scored 22 points Saturday night against the Knicks and is on his way to a very bright future in the league. Add Tracy McGrady’s imminent return to the line-up soon, and Rafer Alston‘s dramatic scoring improvement recently, and things didn’t look good for Luther in getting as many minutes this season.

But if Luther continues to shoot like he Tuesday night, then for the first time this season it looks like the Rockets will have some scoring depth at guard after all, even with Steve Francis and Mike James riding the bench. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season? Before training camp it looked like Alston was on his way out of town, Luther was an afterthought once again, and Brooks was ‘only’ a rookie.

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