CHN - Yao leads Rockets to victory

HOUSTON (NBA) - If there were any doubts about whether Yao Ming was over his latest injury, he erased them on Saturday night.

The Chinese superstar poured in 36 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 107-76 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Yao missed much of last season with a broken toe and also sat out much of the pre-season this summer with a sprained ankle, but he was firing on all cylinders at the Toyota Center.

Yao shot 12 of 16 from the field and 12 of 12 from the line and also grabbed six rebounds to overshadow a 24 point game from the Mavericks` Germany international Dirk Nowitzki.

The Rockets scored the first 12 points of the game and dominated a game which quickly turned into a rout.

"After I made the first couple of shots, they were coming to my side," Yao said. "Rafer (Alston) showed up the entire game. When I give him a target, he always passes the ball right on target."

Yao’s fellow All-Star Tracy McGrady was limited to 22 minutes as he battles back from injury problems of his own, but he still managed eight points, four assists and three rebounds.

Houston’s Luther Head scored 14 of his 17 points in the final quarter with Dallas looking beaten.

Okur and Boozer spell double trouble

Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer registered double-doubles for the second striaght game as the Utah Jazz remained undefeated with a 106-82 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Turkey international Okur had 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Boozer added 17 and 14 for Utah, who dominated in the paint with a 50-38 advantage.

Okur and Boozer had - along with Russia’s Andrei Kirilenko - collecting double-doubles in Friday’s 108-104 win at Phoenix.

Kirilenko was kept quiet in this one, scoring just four points and registering four blocks.

The Jazz led, 29-22, at the start the second quarter before extending their advantage behind a commanding 20-6 surge after which they never looked back.

Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy Jr and Ike Diogu scored 12 points apiece for Golden State.

Lithuania international Sarunas Jasikevicius teamed up with Darrell Armstrong to spark a huge fourth quarter for the Indiana Pacers in their 109-95 win over the New York Knicks.

Al Harrington snapped out of a slump with 32 points as Knicks coach Isiah Thomas had his return to former team Indiana spoiled.

The Pacers had allowed a 13-point third-quarter lead to dwindle to 77-76 entering the final period, but made up for that with a 9-0 spurt which featured five points from Jasikevicius, opening up an 86-76 with 8:44 to go.

In all, Jasikevicius scored 16 points, 14 of which came in the final quarter.

Jermaine O'Neal scored 17 points and Jamaal Tinsley handed out 14 assists for the Pacers.

Steve Francis scored 25 points and Eddy Curry added 22 for the Knicks, but Stephon Marbury made just one of nine shots and committed six turnovers, hearing boos from the Madison Square Garden crowd.

Bobcats find way to beat James, Cavs

Team USA forward LeBron James was upstaged as the Charlotte Bobcats finally found a way to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James was held to 16 points against a team who he has averaged 35 against as the Bobcats held on a 92-88 win.

Raymond Felton scored 23 points and fellow point guard Brevin Knight netted nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, while rookie Adam Morrison came off the bench to score 13.

James made just three of 13 shots, and went down after a collision with Knight late in the game.

Drew Gooden had 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers, while Lithuania international Zydraunas Ilgauskas added 14 and nine.

Rasheed Wallace scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 95-86 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, who continue to struggle without the injured Pau Gasol.

After Memphis had erased an eight-point deficit to draw even at 81-81 with 5:18 left, Wallace scored six points, including a 17-foot turnaround jumper that just beat the shot clock and extended Detroit's lead to 93-84 with 1:04 remaining.

Richard Hamilton also came up with some critical shots, scoring 10 of his 24 points in the final quarter.

Hakim Warrick scored 21 points and Chucky Atkins added 19 for Memphis, who shot just 38%.

Clippers find unlikely hero

Corey Maggette shrugged off trade rumours to score 23 points and collect 12 rebounds off the bench as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 114-108.

Sam Cassell made six clutch foul shots in the last 39 seconds and finished with 23 points.

Cuttino Mobley scored 18 points and Elton Brand contributed 15, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Clippers.

Shawn Marion scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Kurt Thomas added 15 and 12 for the Suns.

Gilbert Arenas had a huge night for the Washington Wizards, scoring 44 points in a 124-117 win over the Boston Celtics.

Michael Redd turned in another solid performance and Charlie Villanueva and Andrew Bogut gave Milwaukee Bucks fans a glimpse of the future in a 104-91 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Redd scored 26 points, Villanueva added 25 and Australia international Bogut 21 as the Bucks won their home opener.

The Portland Trail Blazers won their fourth straight game as the cold-shooting Juan Dixon came good when it mattered, scoring the game-winning three-pointer with six seconds left to record an 88-86 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

PA Sport