Yao Leads Rockets to Another Win

Yao Ming eclipsed 20 points and 10 rebounds for the third straight game -- something he hadn’t done before in his NBA career.

Yao had 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead six Rockets in double figures, and Houston held Minnesota to 26 points in the first half of a 95-76 victory Saturday at Houston.

“He’s been more aggressive the last three games. I keep wishing that he would do that all of the time,” Rocket guard Steve Francis said.

Yao had 21 points and 15 rebounds Wednesday against Boston and 21 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday against Washington. His recent strong play has coincided with the Rockets’ three-game winning streak.

Minnesota had its five-game winning streak end.

New York 101, Chicago 96 -- Keith Van Horn scored 16 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter at Chicago as the Knicks improved to 2-0 under new Coach Lenny Wilkens.

Allan Houston added 26 points and Stephon Marbury had 18 points and eight assists for the Knicks. New York won for only the second time in 12 games when trailing going into the fourth quarter.

Bull Coach Scott Skiles shuffled his starting lineup, starting Eddy Curry and Ronald Dupree in place of Jerome Williams and Kendall Gill.

Detroit 99, Milwaukee 94 -- The Pistons extended their winning streak to 12 games, getting 26 points from Chauncey Billups and 22 from Richard Hamilton at Milwaukee.

With one more victory, the Pistons will match the franchise record of 13 straight set during the 1989-90 championship season.

Detroit ended the Bucks’ 10-game home winning streak.

Indiana 90, New Jersey 84 -- Jermaine O’Neal had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Pacers held the Nets to 29 second-half points at East Rutherford, N.J. Al Harrington added 15 points and 12 rebounds and Ron Artest had 18 points and a big blocked shot as the Pacers overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit.

New Orleans 91, Orlando 90 -- Steve Smith and Robert Traylor came off the bench to combine for 23 second-half points and lift the struggling Hornets at New Orleans.

Atlanta 75, Toronto 70 -- Shareef Abdur- Rahim salvaged a poor-shooting night by making his last three shots to lead the Hawks at Atlanta.

The Raptors played without leading scorer Vince Carter, who strained his right quadriceps in Thursday’s 78-74 victory over New Orleans.

Washington 99, Seattle 84 -- In a matchup of two teams with three-game losing steaks, the Wizards managed to bring theirs to a halt at Washington. Larry Hughes scored 27 points and the Wizards shot a season-high 51% to win for only the third time in 15 games.

Memphis 91, Philadelphia 87 -- Mike Miller made a running layup with 36.6 seconds remaining for the go-ahead points at Philadelphia.

Allen Iverson had 34 points and Glenn Robinson added 20 for Philadelphia.

Dallas 108, Portland 104 -- Michael Finley had 33 points and the Mavericks withstood the absence of guard Steve Nash and the ejection of Coach Don Nelson to win at Portland, Ore.

Dirk Nowitzki had 32 points and seven rebounds for Dallas, which won its fourth straight.

Rasheed Wallace, returning from a left ankle sprain that kept him out for four games, scored 24 points as the Trail Blazers dropped their fourth in a row.