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Yao and Yi endure quiet nights

Yao Ming, left, of the Houston Rockets talks with Yi Jianlian of the Milwaukee Bucks on the foul line at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Saturday. PHOTO: AFP

The second edition of Yao versus Yi didn't live up to its billing, as Yao Ming's Houston Rockets beat Yi Jianlian's Milwaukee Bucks 91-83 in the NBA on Saturday.

Both of China's biggest basketball exports had quiet nights.

Yao scored 12 points and added 12 rebounds for Houston, sitting out much of the first half after getting in early foul trouble and injuring his ankle just before halftime.

Yi scored six points, below the rookie's average of 9.7 per game.

Jazz 110, Grizzlies 91

In Memphis, Tennessee, Utah extended their winning streak to eight games by beating a diminished Memphis.

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Deron Williams had 16 points and 11 assists for the Jazz, who have won 12 of their past 13 to sit atop the Northwest Division.

Memphis lost their third consecutive game, and got a glimpse of what the rest of the season might be like without team leader Pau Gasol, who was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

Cavaliers 98, Clippers 84

In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 28 points after missing a game with a sprained ankle, leading Cleveland over Los Angeles.

The Cavaliers are 0-6 without James this season and 26-14 with him.

The Clippers played their fourth straight game without leading scorers Corey Maggette and Chris Kaman, who were out with illness.

Nuggets 117, Bobcats 101

In Denver, Carmelo Anthony returned from an ankle injury to score 25 points and Denver beat Charlotte.

Allen Iverson added 24 points and 13 assists for the Nuggets, who won their eighth straight home game to remain just a game behind Utah in the Central Division.

Magic 121, Pacers 115

In Indianapolis, Orlando beat Indiana for their fourth-straight win.

Dwight Howard had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, which is now five games clear atop the Southeast Division.

The slumping Pacers dropped their sixth consecutive game.

Hawks 104, Nets 92

In Atlanta, the home team ended a three-game losing streak by beating New Jersey.

Marvin Williams scored 24 points, while Josh Smith and Josh Childress each had 23 for the Hawks, who had dropped seven of eight.

The Hawks used a quick transition game to outscore the Nets 16-7 on fast-break points in the second half.

New Jersey dropped to 2-10 since Jan. 11.

SuperSonics 86, Knicks 85

In Seattle, Kevin Durant shook off another poor shooting night to score 21 points, including a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left, and Seattle beat New York.

It was the third consecutive victory for the SuperSonics.

Seattle native Nate Robinson missed a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining that would have won it for the Knicks, who lost all five games on their road trip.

They blew second-half leads in four of those defeats, including this one.

Robinson missed all nine of his shots and finished with five points, two assists and three turnovers in 32 minutes.

New York (14-33) sank to a season-low 19 games under .500.

Kings 105, Bulls 101

In Sacramento, California, Ron Artest scored 28 points to help Sacramento beat Chicago.

Kevin Martin had 26 for the Kings, who have won four straight and are the closest they've been to .500 since 10 games into the season.

The Bulls had just one field goal in the final 4:57 of the game and that came on a meaningless layup at the buzzer. They have lost nine-straight road games.
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