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Yao had 22 points, 10 rebounds in Rockets victory
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-03 13:56

But Yao got his third foul with 1:20 left in the half and the Kings went to the break with a 49-46 lead.

Yao had 22 points, 10 rebounds in Rockets victorySacramento missed 14 of its first 16 shots to start the second half and the Rockets built a 10-point lead after dunks by McGrady and Yao's backup, Dikembe Mutombo.

One of the NBA's highest scoring teams last season, the Kings were throwing up air balls and bouncing shots off the top of the backboard during their abysmal third quarter.

The Rockets couldn't pull away, though, missing 5 of their last 7 shots in the quarter.

Yao returned with 10:53 left, McGrady was back a minute later and the Rockets controlled their opener from there.

Barry sank a 3-pointer after McGrady came in for a 78-67 Houston lead and McGrady's 3-pointer with 6:50 left gave the Rockets their biggest lead to that point, at 83-71.

The Kings twice cut the lead to six, but Yao answered each time with turnarounds from the baseline.

Barry had a steal and a layup in the final minutes to push the lead back into double figures.

The Rockets won their season opener for only the third time in eight years.