Houston's Tracy McGrady aggravated his ailing left knee and Yao Ming (
McGrady left in the third quarter of the NBA contest and didn't return. He totaled 14 points.
Chinese center Yao had to leave the court to receive treatment after a third-quarter collision with teammate Luther Head, and finished with 12 points.
It was another disappointing visit to Detroit for the Rockets, who have lost seven straight on the Pistons' floor.
Richard Hamilton scored 17 points to lead five Pistons in double figures and Detroit posted their fifth straight victory.
Rasheed Wallace's storming first half put the Rockets on the defensive early. He scored 14 points in the first half as the Pistons took a 51-44 halftime lead, and by the final period the Rockets were unable to mount challenge.
"We stayed close, but the third quarter they really took over the game," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "We didn't push the ball like we needed to. We walked it up the court. Just had some surges but not consistency throughout the game."
"We pretty much took control of the game in the second quarter and we never really looked back," Detroit guard Chauncey Billups said. "Except both of their stars went out, but I thought we pretty much had control at that point."
Celtics 103, Magic 91
In Boston, Paul Pierce had 24 points to lead balanced scoring, and Boston avenged its first loss of the season on Nov. 18 by beating Orlando.
Rajon Rondo added 23 points and Ray Allen 22 for the Celtics (22-3), who have the best record in the NBA. Kevin Garnett had 21 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Warriors 105, Cavaliers 96
In Cleveland, Stephen Jackson scored 29 points and Baron Davis added 27 to help Golden State hand Cleveland its 10th loss in 13 games.
Nuggets 106, Kings 105
At Sacramento, California, Linas Kleiza recovered the ball in a scramble and hit a jumper just before the final buzzer sounded, lifting Denver to a thrilling victory over Sacramento.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was