Yao Ming scored 29 points and Tracy McGrady had 26 points and 10
rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 100-84 victory over the Trail
Blazers on Wednesday night, completing a four-game sweep of the season series against Portland.
McGrady's 3-pointer extended Houston's lead to 72-57 midway through the
third quarter, and the Rockets went on to lead by as many as 25 points for
their sixth win in seven games.
Houston, in fifth place in the West, went 3-1 on its road trip and will
play six of its final 10 games at home.
McGrady had scored 44 points in the Rockets' 99-85 victory over Utah on
Monday, showing no signs of a right hip strain that had been bothering him
recently. It was his fifth game with 40 or more points this season.
With Houston's sizable lead, McGrady did not play in the fourth quarter
against the Blazers.
The most intriguing matchup
of the game was between 7-foot-6 Yao and Portland's 7-foot-3 Ha Seung-Jin.
Jin was selected by Portland in the second round, 46th overall, of last
year's draft. He is the first Korean to play in the NBA.
Yao schooled
the 19-year-old rookie with
physical play and a humbling blocked shot. Ha, who came in the game with
4:25 left in the first quarter, was appearing in just his 10th game for
the Blazers.
Ha did not score, but had four rebounds in 15 minutes. Shareef
Abdur-Rahim led Portland with 21 points.
Portland finished the season winless against the Rockets, the first time
Houston has swept the Blazers since 1993-94.
The Trail Blazers snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 103-96 win
over New York on Saturday before a 114-106 loss to Washington on Monday
night eliminated Portland from the playoffs for the second straight year
after a string of 21 straight seasons in postseason play.
The Blazers have lost 13 of 15 games under Kevin Pritchard, who took
over on an interim basis after Portland fired coach Maurice
Cheeks.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-31 15:20
