Yowsers! Yao helps Houston outpace Indiana

With his best performance of the season, Chinese superstar Yao Ming led the injury-plagued Houston Rockets past the Indiana Pacers, 103-99 on Wednesday night. Yao had 38 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a gargantuan effort that rallied the Rockets from 17 points down for the victory.

Yao's recent efforts, in which he has topped 30 points in the past three games, perhaps signal the emergence of a more aggressive, dominant side of the big man than the NBA has seen in previous years. Yao, a Shanghai native, has tallied 20 or more points in his last nine games, and ten or more rebounds in eight of those.

If the Rockets have any hope of making a run at the playoffs, they are going to need steady output from their Chinese All-Star, as Tracy McGrady's back injuries refuse to go away and Houston's next eight opponents boast winning records. While Shanghaiist is not the biggest Rockets' fan, it is nice to see the pride of Shanghai finally living up to the hype... at least for the time being.

Photo from flickr.