Yao Ming couldn't step on the court because of a foot stress fracture, so his teammates stepped up Tuesday night and notched a 94-69 win over the Washington Wizards for their 13th consecutive victory.
The Rockets didn't appear to miss their All-Star center, jumping to a 7-0 lead and never trailing as they coasted to their 17th win in the last 18 games. The streak is their longest since their championship season of 1993-94, and the longest active streak in the NBA.
"Not having Yao, everybody had to step up a little bit and we all did,” said Luther Head after scoring a team-high 18 points. "Everybody contributed and everybody scored. We did it as a team."
Houston started 41-year-old Dikembe Mutombo in place of Yao, but also used the 6-foot-9 Carl Landry in the spot. Yao was averaging 22 points and 10.8 rebounds this season. Landry finished with 12 points.
"The first half was about as good defensively as we could play," said coach Rick Adelman. "You really got to give Dikembe credit for stepping in."
Tracy McGrady was ineffective for the first three quarters, going 2-of-11 with six points. He helped the Rockets stretch their lead when he had two slam dunks early in the fourth quarter to make 73-51 and finished with 11 points.
McGrady said Yao's injury was a "devastating blow," but that they can't use it as an excuse.
"If we continue to play defense and believe, then we really control it ourselves," he said. "Everybody is really counting us out, which is cool, but we just have to keep believing."
With one star out and another struggling, the Rockets got double-digit contributions from several others, including Luis Scola, who was 7-of-7 for 14 points. Rafer Alston finished with 13 points.
Source: Xinhua
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