Yao Ming had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Houston beat San Antonio 83-81, the Spurs' fourth loss in six games.

"What I could see was effort and how much we wanted this game," Yao said after the game in Houston, Texas.

Rafer Alston added 16 points and six assists as the Rockets beat their in-state rival for only the fourth time in the last 13 meetings. McGrady, who was back after missing 11 games with a sore left knee, had nine points on 4-of-12 shooting.

Tim Duncan had 24 points and 17 rebounds for San Antonio, which lost in Houston for the second time in six visits. The Spurs out rebounded Houston 37-32, but went a costly 11-for-19 from the free throw line.

The Rockets led by 12 early in the second half, but appeared headed for their third straight fourth-quarter collapse.

Houston led 80-79 when Luther Head missed a reverse layup and Yao rebounded and dunked. He was fouled by Fabricio Oberto and pumped his fist after the whistle, with 2:24 to go.

But Yao missed the free throw and Duncan maneuvered for a layup at the other end to cut Houston's lead to 82-81. The Spurs had a chance to take the lead in the final minute, but Duncan missed a shot from the top of the key with 29 seconds left.

The Rockets played keep-away until McGrady found Yao underneath. Yao, an 86 percent free throw shooter, got fouled, then missed both shots. Shane Battier rebounded the second miss and Alston hit a free throw with 2.4 seconds remaining.

Out of a timeout, Spurs reserve Matt Bonner missed a mid-range shot at the buzzer.

With Yao on the bench, Alston hit a 3-pointer and then picked off a pass and fed McGrady for a one-handed dunk on consecutive possessions to put Houston up 66-61. Rookie Carl Landry broke free for another dunk and fellow rookie Aaron Brooks sank a 3-pointer as Houston hung on to the slim lead.

Landry was called for goaltending when he blocked Duncan's hook and Duncan sank an easy bank shot as San Antonio closed to 75-74.

McGrady, wincing in pain during dead balls, left the game with 5:15 left and Parker promptly hit a jumper to put the Spurs in front. Luis Scola hit a free throw with 4:38 left to tie it and the Rockets pulled back in front on Alston's drive with 3:30 left.

In other games, it was: Knicks 88, Heat 84; Mavericks 111, SuperSonics 96; Bulls 97, Pistons 81; Nuggets 111, Timberwolves 108; Magic 101, Trail Blazers 94; Warriors 119, Bucks 99; Bobcats 105, Grizzlies 87; 76ers 99, Raptors 95; and Clippers 120, Nets 107, OT.

In New York, the Knicks happily exploited another fourth-quarter collapse by the Miami Heat, who sent coach Pat Riley to a new low in the NBA on Saturday.

Jamal Crawford scored 22 points and Nate Robinson added 19, including the jumpshot with 2:20 left that put New York ahead to stay, and the Knicks beat Miami 88-84 - sending the Heat to their 13th straight loss, the longest in the league and the worst run of Riley's career.

In Dallas, the home side sent reeling Seattle to its 10th straight loss.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points and Devin Harris keyed a game-breaking run for the Mavericks, who have won eight of the past nine.

In Chicago, the home side used a strong fourth-quarter defensive effort to stay perfect this season against Detroit.

Ben Gordon scored 33 points for the Bulls, who outscored the Pistons 26-14 in the final period, improving to 3-0 this season against the team that eliminated them in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily January 21, 2008)