NBA Roundup: Ming Went The Strings Of My Heart

Notes from today's games in the National Basketball Association:

• 1. Trick Or Treat! Houston Rockets 94, Miami Heat 72, and just like that we have another contender for Best NBA Quote of the Season. This one is from Yao Ming, who rocked Shaquille O'Neal for 34 points and 14 rebounds: "Every time I score on him I was happy like a kid, like a kid getting candy on Halloween because it's really too hard to score on him, too hard. He's just great." We can't help picturing Mrs. O'Neal passed out on her porch as a 7-foot-6 Chinese person dressed as a pirate hovers over her demanding Bit-O-Honey.

• 2. Incoming! Vince Carter would like to, uh, cast a yes vote for the new ball. Carter's three-pointer at the buzzer forced overtime, and he finished with 34 points to lead the Nets to a 105-93 win over the Wizards on Sunday. Now, about that three-pointer; if you didn't see it, imagine a bird flying smack into a picture window and sliding slowly down the glass into a flower pot. It was like that, only with no loose feathers. Jason Kidd had his 77th career triple-double, with 18 assists, for Jersey.

• 3. Action Jackson. It was Phil Jackson's 500th game as Lakers coach, so why not celebrate it with the Grizzlies? The only team with the word "hapless" officially integrated into their team logo (they couldn't fit '38.4 field goal percentage' in there), Memphis lost to LA 91-81 as Kobe Bryant scored 21 points and Lamar Odom had 20 for LA.

• 4. We Hope You At Least Made Some Money From This. It's officially a winning streak for the Mavericks, who have won two straight after Dirk Nowitzki's 26 points and 10 rebounds sparked a 103-96 victory over the Trail Blazers. Dallas has won its past 11 games against the Trail Blazers, dating to Dec. 23, 2003.

• 5. Free Martinizing. Meanwhile, at Arco Arena, Kevin Martin had 26 points, six rebounds and was 8-for-8 from the free throw line as Sacramento beat Toronto 107-92. The Kings haven't lost to the Raptors at home since March 13, 1997.