MIAMI (AFP) — Dwyane Wade scored 31 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 26 to spark the Miami Heat past Houston 98-91 on Friday, boosting the Rockets' National Basketball Association losing streak to six games.
Chinese 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming and Luis Scola each scored 20 points for Houston while Tracy McGrady added 19, but it was not enough to keep the Rockets from falling to 6-7 on the season after winning six of their first seven games.
The Heat improved to 3-9 with their first home victory in six tries and 2-3 since Wade returned from off-season shoulder and knee surgery.
Yao was impressed with O'Neal's early game attacking attitude as 35-year-old "Shaq" imposed himself upon the Asian All-Star, hitting season highs in points and rebounds in the matchup of the NBA's two best big men.
"When we play against them, he really plays well the whole game," Yao said. "I felt like he was playing the same as my rookie year. He sent a very strong message and dominated the game."
O'Neal scored eight points in a 15-4 run to open the game, had 14 points and six rebounds at half-time and added 10 more points in the third quarter.
"He came out great," Wade said. "He wanted to be aggressive especially against the other best center in the league."
O'Neal, a 14-time NBA All-Star and three-time Most Valuable Player in the NBA Finals, was averaging only 15.5 points and 7.1 rebounds a game.
"I think Shaq has been affected like I have and like the team has by our overall poor play as a team," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "He's taken to heart that the team is not doing well and now we can't wait until January.
"He played strong. He played great. At the beginning of the game, he has a lot of energy and we get him off to a pretty good start."
Yao, who grabbed seven rebounds, was averaging 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds before his showdown with "Shaq" and O'Neal had nothing but praise for Yao after the game.
"He's a great player," O'Neal said. "I think what makes him so great is his skills and his height. Most of the time he is just going to turn around and shoot over anybody, including me.
"He's a great player and a great competitor. I always enjoy going up against him."
"Shaq" downplayed his own heroics, praising the teammates who passes the ball to him.
"The ball has the energy. The ball makes me a basketball player," O'Neal said. "Without the ball, I'm not a basketball player."
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