Yao dominates as Rockets roll Knicks

Yao hit 15-of-21 shots from the floor for the Rockets, who picked up their third straight win. Tracy McGrady added 13 points and eight assists and Rafer Alston had 13 points, six assists and five rebounds for Houston, which has won four straight and six of seven against the Knicks.

"On other teams I have played for, if I played this bad and only got 13 points or whatever, we would have lost. Tonight I was just a contributor. I love my new role," said a laughing McGrady.

Stephon Marbury had 22 points and Jamal Crawford scored 18 for New York, which continues to struggle. Quentin Richardson added 16 points for the Knicks, who have lost four of five since opening the season with a win over Memphis.

"Yao was great and we couldn’t do anything against him," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "He really had his rhythm the whole game and Yao now is everything they say he is. He was exceptional tonight. When big guys get into that kind of rhythm, they are very hard to stop."

The Knicks led only twice in the game. Once at 2-0 and the least time at 4-2. After that, Houston went on an 18-4 run to begin to pull away.

New York drew within 26-20 by the end of the first quarter and a Nate Robinson three-pointer with three mintues left in the second quarter got the Knicks to 42-39.

That, however, was the closest the Knicks got. Houston extended to a 54-46 halftime lead and opened the second half with a 14-4 run to go ahead 68-50. McGrady’s three-pointer just over four minutes into the third capped the run, which allowed the Rockets to cruise into the fourth with an 82-66 cushion.

New York made it interesting late in the fourth quarter, scoring seven straight to get within 99-93 after a Marbury three-pointer with 1:15 left. The Knicks, though, never made it a one-possession game, as the Rockets hit their free throws down the stretch.

Game Notes

New York’s Steve Francis missed the game with a left ankle injury...Yao has blocked seven shots in two other games...Houston is 2-0 at home...New York fell to 2-2 on the road...Houston head coach Jeff Van Gundy is 6-1 against his former club the Knicks...New York was coming off a 109-107 win in Denver. The club has not won consecutive games this season...Houston is 4-2 overall this season.