McGrady, Yao lead Rockets past Bulls

Tracy McGrady had 27 points and Yao Ming 20, and the Houston Rockets rode three impressive runs to a 98-78 preseason victory Thursday night over the Chicago Bulls.

Jim Jackson added 17 points for Rockets (3-1).

Luol Deng, the 19-year-old rookie from Duke, led the Bulls with 20 points. Eddy Curry added 17.

Chicago was down 22-17 in the first quarter when it went on an 11-0 run to take a six-point lead. Curry had 10 points in the period.

The Rockets went 4:02 without scoring before McGrady, who had nine points in the first quarter, hit a basket at the buzzer to pull them to 28-24.

Houston began the second quarter with a 13-2 run for a 37-30 lead. Jackson had seven points in the quarter as the Rockets stretched their lead to as much as 45-34.

Both McGrady and Curry had 14 points at the half and Houston led 50-44.

The Rockets scored the first seven points of the third quarter to open a 57-44 lead. Yao and Jackson scored four points apiece in a 10-0 run later in the quarter as Houston made it 69-52.

Then Rockets opened their biggest lead at 98-73 on a jumper by Ryan Bowen with 1:39 remaining in the game.