Blazers playoff-bound despite loss to Rockets

Yao Ming scored 21 points with 12 rebounds yesterday to lead Houston to a 102-88 victory over Portland, hour after Dallas' victory over Phoenix insured the Trail Blazers a National Basketball Association playoff berth.

The Blazers were assured of their first post-season spot when the Mavericks beat Phoenix earlier yesterday.

But if they were hoping to celebrate with a victory, the Rockets had other ideas.

The Rockets took the lead in the first quarter, and never let the tenacious Blazers get it back.

Houston took a 72-65 lead into the fourth period, before the Trail Blazers cut the deficit to 74-70 on a layup by Rudy Fernandez.

But the Rockets stretched their lead to 10 points with a 6-0 scoring run, and Portland didnt get within eight points after that.

Luis Scola scored 16 points, Ron Artest had 15 and Aaron Brooks added 14 for the Rockets who moved ahead of Portland and into fourth place in the Western Conference with five games left in the regular season.