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NBA : Yao, McGrady lead Rockets

Houston's Luis Scola loses control of the ball under pressure from Portland's Travis Outlaw.Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review
Houston's Luis Scola loses control of the ball under pressure from Portland's Travis Outlaw.Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Yao Ming had 21 points and 12 rebounds and Tracy McGrady added 20 points and six assists as the Houston Rockets improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season with an 89-80 win over Portland on Saturday night at Houston.

Yao scored only eight points and McGrady only five the second half, but the Rockets stayed in control with their defense, forcing 18 turnovers and holding the Blazers to 41 percent shooting (31 of 76) for the game.

Brandon Roy scored 23 and former Texas star LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 for Portland, off to its first 0-3 start since the 1986-87 season.

The Rockets never needed big games from either All-Star because the Blazers were off-target from the start.

Yao and McGrady scored 20 points together in the first quarter as Houston built a 25-12 lead.

Pacers 121, Grizzlies 111: At Memphis, Tenn., Mike Dunleavy scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Indiana remain unbeaten with a victory over the Grizzlies.

Nets 93, 76ers 88: At Philadelphia, Jason Kidd had a triple-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and Richard Jefferson scored 22 points to lead New Jersey to a win over the 76ers.

Magic 94, Wizards 82: At Washington, Gilbert Arenas was limited to 10 points as the Wizards’ woes continued, and Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Magic to a victory over Washington, who are 0-3 for the first time since 1992.

“Wizards forward Oleksiy Pecherov will be sidelined six weeks because of a broken right ankle.

Jazz 133, Warriors 110: At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams scored 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Utah beat Golden State.

Bucks 78, Bulls 72: At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 27 points and rookie Yi Jianlian added 16 to help the Bucks beat Chicago for their first victory of the season.

Mavericks 123, Kings 102: At Dallas, point guard J.J. Barea made the most of his first NBA start, hitting 9 of 11 shots for a career-high 25 points, and leading the Mavericks past Sacramento in their home opener.