Mavericks Win With Yao in a Zone

For two quarters, Yao Ming was nearly unstoppable. Then the Dallas Mavericks showed why they’ve been unbeatable.

The Mavericks made a halftime adjustment to collapse their zone defense around Yao, then saw Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki lead them to a 103-90 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night at Dallas, improving the Mavericks to 12-0.

Finley had a season-high 28 points, including six three-point baskets and Nowitzki had 24 points and nine rebounds as Dallas set a franchise record for consecutive wins at any point in a season, and tied for the fourth-best start in league history.

The Mavericks’ next goal is matching Boston’s 14-0 start in 1957-58, then the record of 15-0 set by Washington in 1948-49 and matched by Houston in 1993-94. Dallas next plays Saturday night at home against Seattle.

Yao, the 7-foot-6 center from China who was the first pick in the NBA draft, had his best night as a pro, with 30 points and 16 rebounds in 33 minutes. But he showed fatigue in the second half, scoring only one point in the fourth quarter, when he did not take a shot.

Portland 89, Seattle 85 -- Bonzi Wells scored 16 points and the Trail Blazers took the lead for good with a 14-1 run to close the third quarter at Seattle.