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Ming's 38 points pace Rockets past Wizards
HOUSTON - Yao Ming had more room to work than usual Friday night. And the Houston Rockets center took advantage of it as he matched his season high with 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 105-103 victory over the Washington Wizards. Yao, who had 11 rebounds and recorded his 30th double-double of the season, couldn't believe the Wizards played only one man on him most of the night. "I was pretty surprised that a lot of times they didn't double-team me," he said. "I was rushing things early in the game and expecting them to double me. "After that, I was trying to read the defense and when I saw that nobody was coming, I took my time. I liked that. I hope every night they do that." Coach Jeff Van Gundy thought his team's 3-point shooting early helped form the Wizards strategy. The Rockets hit four 3s in the first quarter and Luther Head, who hit two behind the arc, had 13 points as Houston took a 30-28 lead after one quarter. "That's a bit atypical (for Yao to not be frequently doubled)," Van Gundy said. "But it also goes to our shooting. When you make a couple of 3s early, a team is not as likely to go at Yao as hard." Head noticed the Wizards' strategy early. "When they didn't double him, we tried to get the ball to him as much as we could," said Head, who finished with 20 points. "We try to get him the ball anyway, but it was a benefit when they're not doubling him." The Wizards, who got 28 points from Antawn Jamison and 27 from Gilbert Arenas, still took the game down to a final 3-point attempt that Jamison missed at the buzzer. "I thought we had a good look. It was too bad it didn't go in," said coach Eddie Jordan, who also lamented the fact 7-foot center Brendan Haywood missed his second straight game with lower back pain. "We did the best we could with Yao with the small lineup we played with. We made Yao miss some shots and I was proud of our team."
