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Yao scores 38 points, leads Rockets to win
Yao Ming scored a season-high 38 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots, which is considered perhaps his best game of the season Wednesday night, carrying the Rockets past the Indiana Pacers 103-99. Last month, Yao was the runner-up as the NBA's most overrated player in a survey of players done by Sports Illustrated. But now that he is fully recovered from the toe injury that cost him 21 games, it's hard to say anything bad about him. "Since he's come back, he's been an unbelievable player," Indiana's Peja Stojakovic said. "He's so much better this year. He's unstoppable right now. He reminds me of when Shaquille (O'Neal) was winning championships in Los Angeles." Yao topped 30 points for the third straight game and went 10-for-10 from the free throw line. He's gone over 20 points in nine straight games and reached double digits in rebounds in eight of them. "I know my job," Yao said. "I know what the team needs me to do. I need to score, rebound, guard people. I know who I am and I know what I need to do." In other games, it was: Cleveland 98, Toronto 97; Detroit 106, Chicago 101; Miami 118, Washington 112; Boston 104, Philadelphia 101; Charlotte 104, Golden State 101; Sacramento 123, Milwaukee 116; the Los Angeles Lakers 113, New Orleans 107; Utah 96, Minnesota 93; and Memphis 99, Seattle 74. The 7-foot-6 Yao has taken on an even more important role with leading scorer Tracy McGrady's back problems flaring up again. McGrady missed Tuesday's victory over Minnesota, then left during the third quarter of Wednesday's victory. Yao then took over, helping Houston overcome a 17-point deficit to win for the seventh time in nine games. "The big fella, he's really putting us on his back," said point guard Rafer Alston, who had a season-high 14 assists. McGrady didn't sound confident he could get back quickly, so the Rockets will need Yao to continue his impressive stretch. They play San Antonio twice and Dallas once in their next four games, and need to keep winning if they want to reach the playoffs after their horrendous start. "We know that our backs are against the wall," guard David Wesley said. "We know that we don't have time to be losing games. We have a tough schedule coming up, and it's still a long way to go, but we've just got to find the way."
