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Final Score: Cleveland 77 - Houston 92

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Yao Ming scored 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as Houston dumped Cleveland, 92-77, at the Toyota Center.

Rafer Alston added 17 points and nine assists for the Rockets, who have won five straight games. Shane Battier chipped in with 15 points and eight boards, while Bonzi Wells finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

"This was a great win against a good team," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "We were terrific, the second half especially."

LeBron James had a game-high 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cavaliers, who lost for just the fourth time in 17 games. Larry Hughes finished with 13 points.

Houston led by just one at intermission but quickly gained some breathing room thanks to the long ball early in the third quarter. The Rockets hit three treys in the opening three minutes of the frame, the last of which, by Tracy McGrady, gave Houston a 53-44 advantage.

Moments later, consecutive threes by Alston and Battier put Houston on top 61-49 with 5:21 left until the fourth quarter.

The Rockets actually extended that advantage to 13 points, 72-59, heading into the final frame.

"We did everything defensively we could do, but they just hit their threes in the third quarter," James said. "We had open looks that we missed."

Houston continued to hold the Cavs at bay throughout the fourth. But, Cleveland had one last run and closed the gap to six, 83-77, with 3:22 left, thanks to five consecutive points by James.

Yao finally stopped the bleeding with a turnaround jumper with just over three minutes to go, and the Rockets finished the game with a 9-0 run to win going away.

The Rockets took a 23-19 advantage after the opening 12 minutes but Cleveland closed the deficit to one, 40-39, by intermission.