Mark Stein: Yao gains creditability; Shaq gains a new foe

Friday, Jan. 17
HOUSTON -- The evening will be remembered for the flurry of blocks at the beginning and the big dunk at the end. That's not all, though.
It was a memorable evening simply because Yao Ming stood behind Shaquille O'Neal and stubbornly refused to budge, with the knowledge that O'Neal would be barreling right at him.

If that doesn't sound like much, remember that it doesn't happen much any more. Alonzo Mourning was struck down by kidney failure, retirement claimed Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon and advancing age has slowed Dikembe Mutombo and David Robinson. Sacramento's Vlade Divac is about the only other center out there who has shown any ability (and willingness) to succeed against Shaq one-on-one, and Divac does it largely relying on guile as opposed to size.

Yao is actually blessed with the bulk and must be on the list now, after his game resistance Friday night in Compaq Center. Not until overtime could O'Neal overpower the rookie with one of his trademark tomahawk dunks, and not even two dunks from O'Neal in the OT could diminish what his 7-foot-6, 296-pound counterpart came away with.

"He earned some credibility in this game," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

It wasn't just the start -- those three blocks on O'Neal's first three shots -- that did it. Nor was it solely Yao's three quick buckets in the first quarter. Or his cut to the basket to slam home a game-sealing feed from Steve Francis with 10.2 seconds left in the extra period.

It was his willingness to bang. When they were matched up without the presence of double-team helpers, Yao repeatedly proved capable of denying Shaq the deep position he usually gets. That alone had Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich willing to look past the shots Yao rushed and his passive spells on offense and the rookie's zero rebounds at halftime.

"We're on our way right now," Tomjanovich said. "The town is buzzing, the league is buzzing and I'm just really happy where we're at."

With Francis pumping in a career-best 44 points and a pivot prospect like Yao, Rudy T. had to be. He couldn't complain about O'Neal's big finish -- 10 points in OT, including the two dunks, after two late scores in the fourth quarter -- because the first three quarters went so well.

O'Neal will be harder to guard when he's in better shape, and sluggish second halves could plague Yao for the rest of the season, given his lack of a break from basketball for more than two years. It was nonetheless a Big Game that finally lived up to billing, after the Kings snuffed out the Nets and Mavs in the previous two.

And with apologies to Phil, it gave Yao more credibility, not some.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.