You knew it was going to be a good night for Yao and the Rockets when Yao started off his game against Chicago by blocking 2 shots in the Bulls’ first two possessions. Then 2 minutes into the game, Yao was able to send Joakim Noah to the bench with his 2nd foul.

But Yao would get into foul trouble himself by picking up his second foul with 7:06 in the first quarter, and went to the bench because of a gash he suffered on his arm during that play.

Saddled with foul trouble, Yao had 11 points in the first half, and really got it going in the fourth quarter with 11 more points, scoring 9 points during a 4 1/2 minute stretch that gave the Rockets the cushion they needed to squeeze out a 107-100 win.

Yao would finish with 28 points on an outstanding 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 10-of-10 from the line. He would also grab 8 boards and 4 blocks. And he fouled out Noah in just 18 minutes, leaving the pony-tailed one with only 2 points and 1 rebound. Yao pretty much dominated.

Yao Ming shoots a hook shot over Tyrus Thomas on his way to 28 points.
Click here for more photos from the game.

After the game, Yao’s words were reminiscent of Dream’s from yesteryear…

“They don’t have any guy that really matches up against us inside. They always come with those double teams. They always come with those smalls. I just work on my game. I have the confidence. It’s very simple. When I came back into the game, it’s the fourth quarter. We know how important it is. We did this a lot before, early in this game, early in this season. I just want to have the ball deep and draw the defense, the double team and see if I can do something in there or kick it out.

“It’s working. It’s always working.”

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Despite a fronting defense by Golden State’s Rony Turiaf and Andres Biedrins that usually works against Yao Ming, the Big Guy got back to the level we expected before his clunker of a game Wednesday night against the 76ers.

Yao got Turiaf and Biedrins in early foul trouble, with both players picking up 4 fouls each by halftime while Yao racked up 10 points in the first two quarters on 5-of-8 shooting.

Yao Ming blocks the shot of Rony Turiaf in Saturday’s win over Golden State. Click here for more game photos.

Yao used his size difference, and their foul troubles, to his advantage by hitting 4-of-6 shots in the second half to finish with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting overall to lead Houston to a 110-93 victory over the Warriors. Tack on 11 boards, and all is right with the world when Yao gets back to numbers like that where he belongs.

Yao did have 4 turnovers, with one coming off a charge that was a bogus call by the refs. Still, 3 TOs coming off mishandling the ball is three too many, but I can live with one of those per game from Yao.

People may think that Golden State is a pushover team, but they’re still dangerous with explosive scorers like Stephen Jackson, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, and this year’s surprise for them, C.J. Watson.

They shocked the Hornets on Friday night in New Orleans with an unlikely road victory, and it looked for a little while on Saturday night that they might be able to pull off another upset, but the Rockets finally got it going in the second half keyed by Yao’s 25 and Ron Artest’s 27.

Without Tracy McGrady in the lineup because of a Yao-induced ankle injury, Rick Adelman decided to start Artest over Von Wafer. Like I knew he would (unlike McGrady), Artest bounced back and played a much better Saturday in comparison to his 7-of-29 shooting over his past two games. Artest took over in the 3rd quarter, scoring 12 points, and finished with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point land, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds.

Anyone who thinks Artest is more disposable than McGrady, like I’ve seen some Houston columnists write lately, is off their rocker. But that’s a different topic for another day.

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