Rockets shoot for fourth straight win

On Saturday, Yao Ming had 22 points and established a career-high with 20 rebounds in a dominating performance, as the Rockets rolled to a 86-80 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Cuttino Mobley and Maurice Taylor chipped in with 14 points each while Steve Francis had a season-high 11 assists for the Rockets, whose three-game tear comes on the heels of a three-game slide.

The game was decided in the first seven minutes of the third quarter, as Houston came out strong in the second half with an 18-6 run. Francis capped the scoring on a jumper with 5:02 left, giving the Rockets a 66-47 lead.

The Pistons chipped away at the Rockets’ lead in the fourth quarter, getting as close as six when Mehmet Okur completed a three-point play with 3:53 left to narrow the gap to 80-74.

Mobley, though, took the wind out of the Pistons’ sails with a three-point play of his own 1:30 later to make it 83-74. Yao then put the exclamation point on the victory with a dunk in the closing seconds.

Houston, which will wrap up a three-game homestand on Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs, is 7-1 at home this season.

Portland, meanwhile, had their three-game winning streak stopped on Sunday and remained winless away from home this season when it was defeated by the Memphis Grizzlies, 93-79.

Zach Randolph poured in 29 points and hauled in 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have won five of their last eight. Rasheed Wallace added 13 points and had nine boards in the setback.

Portland is 0-6 on the road this year and has dropped its last nine regular- season road contests dating back to last season. The Trail Blazers will wrap up a three-game road trip in San Antonio on Wednesday.

Portland defeated the Rockets earlier in the season and has won four straight and seven of the last eight meetings. The Blazers have also won six of eight and nine of its last 13 in Houston.