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.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
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