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Mavs harass Yao, sink Rockets

(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-22 14:00

DALLAS - About the only thing the Houston Rockets have had going for them lately was the strong play of Yao Ming. So the main thing the Dallas Mavericks focused on Tuesday night was making him work for everything he got.

Yao wound up being pestered into his worst game in a month, scoring only four points by halftime then taking only one shot in the third quarter of an 88-72 victory by the Mavericks.

He'd scored at least 20 points in the 14 games in between, averaging 28 over that stretch. That included a 36-point game against Dallas last week.

Yao finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. It was his fewest points since scoring only six in 9 minutes against Phoenix on Feb. 16.

"Every time he tried to get to the post, we fought him," Dallas center DeSagana Diop said. "We didn't want to give him anything easy."

Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points, including six during a 12-2 spurt that broke the game open in the second quarter. The Mavericks were hardly challenged again, easily capping a season sweep over a team that took them to seven games in the first round of last year's playoffs.

Dallas won for the fourth time in five games to remain a half-game behind San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference. Houston lost its sixth straight since a four-game winning streak.

This time, the Mavs sent two and sometimes three defenders at Yao, practically begging him to pass the ball to an open teammate. He did quite often, they just didn't hold up their end of the deal.

The Rockets never scored on more than two straight possessions and barely surpassed their season low of 70 points, yet another example of how badly they miss the injured Tracy McGrady.

"We've got to make the shots when they double-team Yao," said forward Keith Bogans, who was one of the prime offenders by making only one of six shots. "That's what it comes down to."