Yao injures ankle in loss to Magic 90-94
(AP) Updated: 2006-10-27 10:14
ORLANDO, Fla. - Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Carlos Arroyo
scored 16 points, leading the Orlando Magic to a 94-90 win over the Houston
Rockets in the teams' final pre-season game Thursday night.
Houston Rockets' Yao Ming (11), of
China, has the ball knocked out of his hands by Orlando Magic's Jameer
Nelson (14) during the first half of NBA pre-season basketball game in
Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006.
[AP] |
Tracy McGrady led the Rockets with 18 points, but played sparingly in the
third quarter and sat out the fourth. Yao Ming had 13 points and four rebounds
before leaving in the second quarter with a sprained ankle. The Rockets said the
injury was minor and that he left the game only as a precaution.
Arroyo sealed the win with a three-point play in the game's final two
minutes.
Orlando and Houston both finished the pre-season 6-2. The loss snapped the
Rockets' five-game winning streak.
John Lucas III scored 12 points for Houston, all in the fourth quarter. Shane
Battier had 11 points and six rebounds, and Steve Novak scored 10 points for the
Rockets.
Hedo Turkoglu was Orlando's only player besides Howard and Arroyo to crack
double digits, netting 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
Yao had 11 points during a 15-4 second-quarter run that helped Houston to a
49-46 halftime lead. The Rockets missed his inside presence in the second half.
Houston went 3-of-4 from three-point range in the third quarter's opening
minutes, but then suddenly went cold. The Rockets were scoreless for nearly
eight minutes during a 21-0 Magic run that gave Orlando an eight-point lead with
1:06 left in the third quarter.
Magic rookie J.J. Redick, who sat out most of the pre-season with an injured
foot, played in just his second game. He ended the exhibition season with no
points on 0-of-3 shooting.
Darko Milicic returned for the Magic after missing two games with a bruised
lower back. He picked up three fouls in six minutes defending Yao, and a
technical for knocking a ball on the floor that bounced into the stands in the
second quarter. Milicic finished with four points and five rebounds.
Houston was 13-of-33 from three-point range, compared with 1-of-13 for
Orlando.
|