look everyone on here is talking about yao's grip strength and everything but on one is mentioning the missed layups during the time we could have built a bigger lead.... Yao is refd terribly but rockets couldn't have hit layups or their free throws when it counted
Don't blame them for that one. In fact, the consecutive no-call fouls on Yao directly led to this happening: the Rockets were forced to use an extra timeout, and they had none left to use to draw up the last play, so they were forced to improvise. Their improvisation led to a 3 point attempt by Yao. I'd say the blown layups and missed free throws by Yao earlier hurt, but I don't see any way one claim that the bad officiating wasn't directly responsible for the outcome of this game.
There have been several this season alone, esp. after Yao complained publicly. He forced the issue in the paint, and the refs had to call a foul on his opponent almost every time ... so much that the opposing team's fans booed the refs loudly. Every now and then, Yao, and the team as a whole regress and allow the opposing team's defense to affect their aggressiveness in the paint.
