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McGrady scored nine points in his return and the Houston Rockets survived uncharacteristically poor free-throw shooting from Yao for an 83-81 home victory over San Antonio on Saturday night.

 Yao had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who went a surprising 7-4 while McGrady recovered from a sore left knee. The superstar came off the bench and played 27 minutes, making 4-of-12 shots while playing in some pain.

 "(If) I were to wait until I get to 100 per cent, then I would probably be waiting until the end of the season," said McGrady, who added four rebounds and four assists.

 "I made up my mind that I was going to come out and play. I went through two hard practices that went pretty good, and I felt like I would give it a shot," he said.

 "He hasn't been able to run," Houston coach Rick Adelman said. "He hasn't been able to do some stuff. So he missed some shots he normally would knock down."

   The Rockets led by 12 points early in the fourth quarter, but the Spurs rallied to take a 76-75 lead with 4:59 remaining on a jumper by French flash Tony Parker, who scored 16 points.

 A follow dunk by Yao as he was fouled gave Houston an 82-79 lead with 2:24 left. But the Chinese superstar missed the ensuing free throw, a sign of things to come.

 Tim Duncan, who had 24 points and 17 rebounds, answered with a bucket as he was fouled with 1:33 to go. He missed the potential tying foul shot, and both teams dug in on defence. In the final two- plus minutes, the teams combined to shoot 1-of-7 from the field and 1-of-4 from the line.

 "We've had some games this season where we've struggled to win in the fourth quarter," Yao said. "Today, we hung in there. Everyone was playing hard, especially on defence."

   An 86-per-cent foul shooter, Yao missed two more free throws with seven seconds left. But teammate Shane Battier got the rebound, and Rafer Alston was fouled with 2.4 seconds to play. He split the free throws for an 83-81 lead.

 "That was the ballgame right there," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

 On the final possession, Matt Bonner missed a potential tying jumper for San Antonio.

 "There were three or four options on the play," Duncan said. "Matty gets a wide-open shot and we'll take it."

   The defending champion Spurs (25-13) have not played well for more than a month. They haven't beaten a team with a winning record since December 15, going 7-8 in that stretch.

 The Spurs had won nine of the last 12 meetings between the intrastate rivals but shot 45 per cent (32-of-71) and made just 11- of-19 free throws.

 "It was a much better effort for us, but we didn't have the punch to get the win on the road," said Argentine star Manu Ginobili, who scored 21 points off the bench for San Antonio.

 Alston had 16 points and six assists for the Rockets, who shot under 39 per cent (32-of-83) from the field but grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and committed just seven turnovers.

 Dallas 111, Seattle 96

   German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points as host Dallas won for the eighth time in nine games. Rookie sensation Kevin Durant was held to a season-low six points for Seattle, which has lost 10 straight games.

 Orlando 101, Portland 94

   Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points to lead six players in double figures as the host Magic held off a rally by the Trail Blazers. Brandon Roy had 25 points and seven assists for Portland.

 New York 88, Miami 84

   The host Heat lost their 13th straight game as the Knicks rallied late for their fourth win in five games behind Nate Robinson, who collected 19 points and seven assists.  Dwyane Wade scored 22 points for reeling Miami.

 Sacramento 110, Indiana 104

Slovenia's Beno Udrih scored 20 points as part of a balanced attack to lead improving Sacramento to its fifth win in seven games.  Danny Granger scored 26 points for the host Pacers, who have lost five of seven.

 Chicago 97, Detroit 81

   Ben Gordon scored 33 points off the bench to help the host Bulls improve to 3-0 against the Pistons this season. Chauncey Billups scored 27 points for suddenly struggling Detroit, which has lost five of eight since an 11-game winning streak.

 Charlotte 105, Memphis 87

   Jason Richardson had a season-high 38 points and 14 rebounds as the Bobcats beat the visiting Grizzlies for the first time in franchise history and won for the fifth time in eight games. Pau Gasol scored 28 points and fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Navarro added 21 for Memphis.

 Denver 111, Minnesota 108

   Allen Iverson scored 35 points, including Denver's last nine, as the Nuggets overtook the league-worst Timberwolves with a late surge.  Al Jefferson had 20 points and 16 boards for Minnesota, which has lost 16 consecutive road games.

 Golden State 119, Milwaukee 99

   Al Harrington scored 11 of his 27 points in a 41-point third quarter as the Warriors completed a 3-1 road trip. Australian Andrew Bogut had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, which has dropped four of five.

 Philadelphia 99, Toronto 95

   Willie Green scored a season-high 23 points for the host 76ers, who won for just the second time in 10 games. Chris Bosh had 25 points and nine boards for the Raptors, who had won five of six.

 Clippers 120, Nets 107 (OT)

   Sam Cassell (22 points) and Cuttino Mobley (19) each scored six points in overtime for the host Clippers, who swept the season series. Josh Boone had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Nets, who have dropped four straight.

By Paul Levine, dpa