LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers made Yao Ming feel like he
was back in high school.
Yao struggled in his first game after missing more than two
months with a leg injury and the Cavaliers held off the Houston
Rockets 91-85 Monday night, led by James' 32 points, 12 rebounds
and eight assists.
Yao sat at his locker with a bag of ice on his right knee after
the game. He finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and
five turnovers.
The 7-foot-6 center had just one practice since recovering from
a broken bone under his knee. It showed.
"In the second quarter, third quarter, I was almost like a high
school player," Yao said. "Sometimes, Cleveland would just steal
the ball from my hand."
Yao airballed a left hook on the Rockets' first possession, but
immediately got in the Cavaliers' way on the other end by blocking
a shot.
Wearing a black brace on his right knee, Yao looked slow and out
of synch on offense, letting a crisp pass tip off his hands and
missing open shots.
"Uneven, which is to be expected," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy
said. "But he's got to cut down on his turnovers. We can't play
well if he goes right back to what he was doing before he got hurt,
which is being a high turnover guy. It's impossible to have
offensive rhythm."
James, whose popularity in China helped him top Yao in All-Star
voting this year, scored more than 30 points for the fourth
straight game. The Cavaliers have won three of those four.
James got help from Larry Hughes, who had been struggling until
recently and is finally starting to complement the superstar as the
Cavaliers envisioned.
Hughes had 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds and said
this is the most comfortable he's felt since joining the Cavaliers
as a free agent last season.
With rookie Daniel Gibson out with a sprained toe, Hughes played
some point guard, which he said he'd like to do more often.
"I'm able to create," he said. "I'm able to get everybody
involved, feel the flow of the game, know what plays we can
run."
James wouldn't mind seeing that as well.
"If he keeps playing the way he is playing now, we might have to
keep him in there," James said.
Yao, who played 27 minutes, helped spark the Rockets in the
fourth quarter after they trailed by 14. He scored seven straight
points and provided a presence inside that forced Cleveland to take
outside shots.
The Rockets, who have lost four of five, pulled to within 84-82
on Tracy McGrady's jumper with 1:34 left. But Zydrunas Ilgauskas
put back James' missed jumper on the next possession to protect the
lead.
Ilgauskas then stole ball from Yao, who fell to the floor in a
heap. Hughes tossed an alley-oop to James on the other end and he
slammed in it for a 88-82 lead.
Yao, who said he fell on his elbow to avoid landing on his right
knee, got up with help from a trainer, hobbled off, but returned to
the game.
McGrady responded with a 3-pointer to pull within 88-85 after
the Cavaliers twice couldn't grab a rebound.
Hughes hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 10 seconds, the last
two after McGrady missed a tough 3-pointer.
McGrady led Houston with 25 points but struggled, going
10-for-32 and setting a season-high for attempts. He often took a
shot as soon as the ball touched his hands.
McGrady took a couple knees to his thigh but refused to blame
the injuries on his rough performance.
"They got a lot of opportunities in the transition where they
really kicked out butts and that was the turning point," McGrady
said.
Shane Battier scored 15 and the Rockets got only 14 points from
their bench.
Ilgauskas had just eight points but added three blocks, two
steals and made things difficult for Yao.
"He had a great steal on Yao, hit the ball away and we got a
fast-break dunk," James said.
James opened up a 43-33 lead on a three-point play just before
halftime. McGrady shot 2-for-13 and Yao 1-for-9 in the first
half.
"I can't wait for my next game," Yao said.
(CRI via foxsports?March 6, 2007)
