Yao silenced as Suns scorch Rockets in NBA
AFP
March 13, 2007
PHOENIX, United States (AFP) - Leandro Barbosa matched a career high with 32 points, sparking the Phoenix Suns past the Houston Rockets 103-82 in a National Basketball Association matchup here Monday.
Barbosa came off the bench to play 35 minutes and help frustrate Chinese superstar Yao Ming, who scored 120 points but made only 1-of-9 shots from the field, grabbed just eight rebounds and committed a game-high five turnovers.
Frenchman Boris Diaw added 15 points and Shawn Marion contributed 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Suns, who won their fifth game in a row and 10th in 11 games to improve to 49-14, second in the Western Conference.
The Rockets slid to 39-25, fifth in the West, with their first loss in four games since Yao returned from a broken leg that kept him sidelined for 32 games. Yao had scored 37 points in a victory Sunday over Orlando.
Tracy McGrady led Houston with 19 points but the Rockets, with the second-ranked defense in the NBA, were taken apart by the NBA's top-scoring team. The Suns average more than 110 points a start.
Barbosa made 12-of-18 shots from the floor, including 5-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Barbosa, averaging 25.8 points in his last four games, scored 17 in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers, to give Phoenix a 52-42 edge at the break.
Rafer Alston drilled a basket from the arc with 8:52 left in the third quarter to bring Houston within 55-51.
But Marion scored five points, Amare Stoudemire added four and Barbosa ended the quarter with a 3-pointer to help widen the Suns lead to 74-66. A 21-9 Suns run to start the fourth period left no doubt.
