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O'Neal drowns out Yao to lead Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal, right, gets set to dunk the ball as Houston Rockets' Yao Ming guards during the second half on Thursday night in Los Angeles. PHOTO: AP

Karl Malone had 20 points and 14 rebounds and Shaquille O'Neal contained Yao Ming as the streaking Los Angeles Lakers won their 10th straight game, 93-85 over the Houston Rockets on Thursday.

The Lakers moved into a tie for first place with the Sacramento Kings in the Pacific Division as they equalled their season-high for consecutive wins.

With Malone and Kobe Bryant now back in the line-up and healthy, the Lakers are starting to dominate in the Western Conference with their top four players on the court.

O'Neal added 18 points and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, but it was his ability to shut down Yao that was the big factor in handing the Rockets their sixth loss in nine games.

Yao had averaged 26.7 points in three previous games against the Lakers, two of them wins. This time he had just six points and eight rebounds.

"Yeah he's a great guy, he's a great center, but there's only one dominant big man," O'Neal said of Yao. "That's why they call me diesel.

"We came out, we played well and we were aggressive," he added. "Now we're tied for first."

Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points and Payton added 12 points and 13 rebounds as Los Angeles pulled away with a late fourth quarter run.

Cuttino Mobley led Houston with 26 points, while Steve Francis added 17 points and eight assists.

Mavricks 127, Kings 117

Michael Finley scored 29 points, Steve Nash had a career-high 19 assists Thursday as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Western Conference-leading -- and suddenly struggling -- Sacramento Kings.

The Kings lost for the fourth time in five games, and fell into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated Houston, for the top seed in the West.

"We get more open looks, more opportunities in the open court, and it's working for us," Finley said.

Finley made seven straight field goals in one stretch. The first four came in a 10-0 run at the end of the first half that pushed the Mavericks ahead 67-50.

Nash had 20 points to go along with his 19 assists, the most in the NBA this season and a franchise record for a regulation game. Jason Kidd had 25 assists in a double-overtime game in 1996.

Dirk Nowitzki followed a 35-point, 18-rebound effort Tuesday against Cleveland with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Marquis Daniels and Antawn Jamison had 16 points each.

Mike Bibby led six Kings in double figures with 23 points. Chris Webber had 22 points and Peja Stojakovic 21.

"We've won 52 games. We've got to find out how we did that," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "We have to find ourselves again."

In other NHL games: Trail Blazers 88, 76ers 82
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