USA - Yao and McGrady on form for Rockets

HOUSTON (NBA) - Yao Ming had 21 points and 12 rebounds and Tracy McGrady scored 20 points as the Houston Rockets posted an 89-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.

After being sent home in the first round of the post-season the past two campaigns, the Rockets brought in experienced coach Rick Adelman to finally get the franchise over the hump.

So far the Rockets are undefeated at 3-0 - the first time since the 1996-97 term - and have averaged 96.6 points through three games with McGrady shooting a blistering 50% from the field.

Houston wasted little time taking care of business in this one as they opened the game on a commanding 21-8 burst, capped by Mike James' three-pointer with 1:35 left.McGrady poured in 10 points during the surge.

Brandon Roy's 15-footer trimmed the Trail Blazers' deficit to 54-46 at the 6:11 mark in the third.But Houston responded with an 8-0 run to push the advantage back to double figures and never looked back.

James was once again stellar off the bench, scoring 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting.The 6ft 2in guard was acquired in an off-season trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Juwan Howard.

Roy netted 23 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 and eight boards for Portland, who return home on Wednesday with hopes of picking up their first win this season against the New Orleans Hornets.

Deron Williams had 30 points and 11 assists to defuse a late run, taking over down the stretch as the Utah Jazz pulled away for a 133-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

The Jazz, who ousted the Warriors in five games in last season's Western Conference semi-finals, picked up where they left off - trouncing visiting Golden State for the second time in three games already this campaign.

After the Warriors cut their deficit to 99-93 at the 9:00 mark of the final period, Williams was there for an answer, knocking down a mid-range jumper on the other end.

Just moments later, he hit a three-pointer with a hand in his face to give Utah a more comfortable 12-point edge. They continued that way for much of the fourth quarter.The
Warriors tried to steal back the momentum, but Williams was always there with a timely response.

Mike Dunleavy scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 121-111 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Danny Granger added 23 points for Indiana, who scored 72 points in the first half and shot 53% from the floor en route to their third straight win.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 25 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 94-82 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Rashard Lewis scored 18 points and Dwight Howard added 17 and 15 rebounds as the Magic rebounded from a 116-92 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

Caron Butler scored 23 points for the cold-shooting Wizards, who opened the season with three consecutive losses for the first time in 15 years.

Jason Kidd collected 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists - his 88th career triple-double - as the New Jersey Nets held off the Philadelphia 76ers with a 93-88 victory at the Wachovia Center.

Richard Jefferson scored 22 points and Vince Carter added 18 for New Jersey, who dropped an embarrassing 106-69 decision to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

Jose Juan Barea scored 25 points, including a barrage of three-pointers, as the Dallas Mavericks routed the lowly Sacramento Kings 123-102 in their home opener.

In his return from a two-game suspension, Josh Howard scored 27 points and reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki added 24 for Dallas, who bounced back from a disappointing loss to the young Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Michael Redd scored 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists as the Milwaukee Bucks posted a 78-72 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Rookie Yi Jianlian scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Milwaukee, who had not started a season with three straight losses since dropping a franchise record five in a row in 1976-77.

Milwaukee, who were celebrating the 40th anniversary of their existence, helped Chicago to a surprising third loss in a row to start the campaign.

FIBA