Yao Ming just fine with quiet role in playoffs

HOUSTON — Yao Ming has taken only 13 shots in the last two games of the Houston Rockets' NBA playoffs series against the Portland Trail Blazers. That's OK with him. The Trail Blazers have shut down the Rockets' 7-foot-6 (2.29-meter) center with aggressive double-teams and physical play, but they still trail the series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Sunday in Houston. Yao was limited to seven points on 2-for-7 shooting in Game 3, but Luis Scola scored 19, Shane Battier added 16 and Houston won 86-83. Yao scored only 11 in Game 2 and the Rockets still nearly rallied before losing 107-103. Yao will gladly continue to take on multiple defenders and leave the scoring to teammates as long as the Rockets keep winning. "We have a lot of weapons," said Yao, who averaged 19.7 points during the regular season. "Actually, I'm not very frustrated. I have not caused the damage I did in the first game, but I think I have still helped the team win. That's the only thing I care about." Scola shot 8-of-15 in Game 3, most of them mid-range jumpers taken while Yao was locking arms and fighting Greg Oden or Joel Przybilla for position underneath. Portland also held Ron Artest to nine points in Game 3, but Carl Landry came off the bench to score 10, leaving the Blazers feeling as if they let a big opportunity slip away. "Yao and Ron don't even score in double figures and they win the game," said Portland's Brandon Roy. "They made some good adjustments, some guys came off the bench and played well. We felt like we did a good job of taking away the two guys, and their other guys got it going." Yao is still the Rockets' most reliable scoring option, and they'll try to force the ball to him again in Game 4. Yao became the focal point of the offense when Tracy McGrady went out with season-ending knee surgery in February, and scored 24 points on 9-of-9 shooting in the Rockets' victory at Portland in the series opener. "That's going to be the challenge from here on in," Battier said. "They're going to take him away. We have to do a better job of getting him the ball and still exploiting the holes they give us." – AP