The AP reports: The 7-foot-6 Yao Ming scored nine of Houston’s first 11 points and finished with 24 in the Rockets’ 108-81 victory over the Trail Blazers on Saturday night. It was the opener of their first-round playoff series… Yao scored all of his points in the first half, and added nine rebounds. He hit all nine of his attempts from the field and all six of his free throws… Aaron Brooks added 27 points for the Rockets, who haven’t advanced out of the first round of the playoffs since 1997. Brandon Roy had 21 points for the Blazers in their first playoff appearance since the 2002-03 season. Portland embraced the young team this season, and some 10,000 fans showed up at a downtown rally earlier in the week in support of the team… Luis Scola finished with 19 points, and Artest had 17.
