Houston Rockets Yao Ming of China loses control of the ball as Chicago Bulls Jared Reiner and Luol Deng of Sudan defend during the third quarter of their preseason game Thursday, Oct. 21, 2004, in Houston.[Agencies]

Tracy McGrady had 27 points and Yao Ming 20, and the Houston Rockets rode three impressive runs to a 98-78 preseason victory Thursday night over the Chicago Bulls.

Jim Jackson added 17 points for Rockets (3-1).

Luol Deng, the 19-year-old rookie from Duke, led the Bulls with 20 points. Eddy Curry added 17.

Chicago was down 22-17 in the first quarter when it went on an 11-0 run to take a six-point lead. Curry had 10 points in the period.

The Rockets went 4:02 without scoring before McGrady, who had nine points in the first quarter, hit a basket at the buzzer to pull them to 28-24.

Houston began the second quarter with a 13-2 run for a 37-30 lead. Jackson had seven points in the quarter as the Rockets stretched their lead to as much as 45-34.

Both McGrady and Curry had 14 points at the half and Houston led 50-44.

The Rockets scored the first seven points of the third quarter to open a 57-44 lead. Yao and Jackson scored four points apiece in a 10-0 run later in the quarter as Houston made it 69-52.

Then Rockets opened their biggest lead at 98-73 on a jumper by Ryan Bowen with 1:39 remaining in the game. 

(Agencies)

rookie: a first-year player, especially in a professional sport（新手）

buzzer: an electric signaling device, such as a doorbell, that makes a buzzing sound（蜂鸣器，文中指提示进攻24秒规定时间的有声显示器）