Houston leads for third seed in the West
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 15, 2009 00:00
HOUSTON, Texas - Yao Ming scored 22 points Monday to lift the Houston Rockets to an 86-66 victory over New Orleans in a National Basketball Association contest.
Luis Scola brought down 15 rebounds for the Rockets, who entered the contest holding the number four seed in the West, with the same record as San Antonio and Portland.
The Spurs kept pace with the Rockets with a 101-72 victory at Oakland, where Tony Parker scored 17 points and Tim Duncan added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
If Houston and San Antonio both win their regular-season finales tonight, the Rockets will win a complicated tiebreaker and get the number three Western Conference seed.
In fact, the Rockets could yet finish seeded anywhere from second to fifth in the West.
"We just need to keep winning because nothing is secure right now," said Yao. The Chinese center showed no ill effects from a painful right foot that kept him out of Houston's previous game.
"No problem," said Yao, who played 31 minutes. "That's a team win right there. I'm proud I'm a member of this team."
New Orleans Hornets squandered a chance to seal the Western Conference sixth seed.
"It is very disappointing," Hornets coach Byron Scott said of his team's lackluster performance. "I think most of our guys in that locker room think that it's like a light switch, that you can just turn on when the playoffs start. It's not going to happen, it's just not."
The Spurs kept pace with the Rockets with a 101-72 victory at Oakland, where Tony Parker scored 17 points and Tim Duncan added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
If Houston and San Antonio both win their regular-season finales tonight, the Rockets will win a complicated tiebreaker and get the number three Western Conference seed.
In fact, the Rockets could yet finish seeded anywhere from second to fifth in the West.
"We just need to keep winning because nothing is secure right now," said Yao. The Chinese center showed no ill effects from a painful right foot that kept him out of Houston's previous game.
"No problem," said Yao, who played 31 minutes. "That's a team win right there. I'm proud I'm a member of this team."
New Orleans Hornets squandered a chance to seal the Western Conference sixth seed.
"It is very disappointing," Hornets coach Byron Scott said of his team's lackluster performance. "I think most of our guys in that locker room think that it's like a light switch, that you can just turn on when the playoffs start. It's not going to happen, it's just not."