Houston Rockets Yao Ming dunks against the Miami Heat during fourth quarter NBA basketball action in Miami, Florida, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2006. Nov. 13 - Yao Ming easily won his matchup with Shaquille O'Neal, finishing with 34 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to their fourth straight victory, 94-72 over the Miami Heat on Sunday night.
Yao scored 20 points in the second half, when Houston outscored Miami by 25 points. Tracy McGrady added 12 points and eight assists.
Dwyane Wade led Miami with 24 points, but had only eight in the second half.
O'Neal's field goal early in the third quarter moved him past Patrick Ewing for 14th on the NBA's career scoring list with 24,817 points. But he finished with only 15 points and now has 24,820 in his career.
After trailing nearly the entire first half, the Rockets outscored the Heat 21-14 in the third quarter and never trailed after Rafer Alston's 3-pointer for a 58-56 lead with 1:27 remaining in the period.
The Rockets ran off 11 straight points during the final 2:48 of the third quarter and first 1:39 of the fourth period for a 64-58 lead. Luther Head hit consecutive 3-pointers and Yao's driving layup increased the Rockets' advantage to 76-66 with 5:21 remaining.
Kirk Snyder's two free throws with 1:27 remaining in the game finished another 11-point run and gave the Rockets a 91-70 lead.
The Rockets lost forward Chuck Hayes to a left knee injury when he collided with O'Neal with 5:05 remaining in the third period. Hayes was taken to the dressing room and didn't return.
After a brief 6-4 lead early in the game, the Rockets trailed most of the first half. But Yao scored six points and Shane Battier added four in a 10-2 run as Houston went ahead 36-35 with 4 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Gary Payton and Alston were each assessed technical fouls for their brief shoving match in front of the Miami bench with 29 seconds remaining in the first half.