ORLANDO, Fla. - Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Carlos Arroyo scored 16 points, leading the Orlando Magic to a 94-90 win over the Houston Rockets in the teams' final pre-season game Thursday night.


Houston Rockets' Yao Ming (11), of China, has the ball knocked out of his hands by Orlando Magic's Jameer Nelson (14) during the first half of NBA pre-season basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006. [AP]

Tracy McGrady led the Rockets with 18 points, but played sparingly in the third quarter and sat out the fourth. Yao Ming had 13 points and four rebounds before leaving in the second quarter with a sprained ankle. The Rockets said the injury was minor and that he left the game only as a precaution.

Arroyo sealed the win with a three-point play in the game's final two minutes.

Orlando and Houston both finished the pre-season 6-2. The loss snapped the Rockets' five-game winning streak.

John Lucas III scored 12 points for Houston, all in the fourth quarter. Shane Battier had 11 points and six rebounds, and Steve Novak scored 10 points for the Rockets.





Hedo Turkoglu was Orlando's only player besides Howard and Arroyo to crack double digits, netting 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

Yao had 11 points during a 15-4 second-quarter run that helped Houston to a 49-46 halftime lead. The Rockets missed his inside presence in the second half.

Houston went 3-of-4 from three-point range in the third quarter's opening minutes, but then suddenly went cold. The Rockets were scoreless for nearly eight minutes during a 21-0 Magic run that gave Orlando an eight-point lead with 1:06 left in the third quarter.

Magic rookie J.J. Redick, who sat out most of the pre-season with an injured foot, played in just his second game. He ended the exhibition season with no points on 0-of-3 shooting.

Darko Milicic returned for the Magic after missing two games with a bruised lower back. He picked up three fouls in six minutes defending Yao, and a technical for knocking a ball on the floor that bounced into the stands in the second quarter. Milicic finished with four points and five rebounds.

Houston was 13-of-33 from three-point range, compared with 1-of-13 for Orlando.

do not attribute to Yao only,,,,
this is team work