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Yao looks to shake off rust vs. streaking Celtics

Mar 7, 2007 - 3:46 PM Houston (36-24) at Boston (17-42) 7:30 pm EST

BOSTON (Ticker) - Yao Ming hopes to shake off the rust Wednesday when the Houston Rockets visit the Boston Celtics, who are looking to match a season-high five-game winning streak.

Sidelined for nearly three months with a fracture below his knee, Yao returned to the lineup in a 91-85 loss at Cleveland on Monday. The 7-5 giant made just 5-of-15 shots, committed five turnovers and finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.

Yao will be looking for a better performance against the Celtics, who despite owning the Eastern Conference's worst record, have been playing well.

After rallying from a seven-point deficit with under a minute remaining in Saturday's overtime victory at New Jersey, the Celtics went double overtime before emerging with a 124-117 victory over Minnesota on Sunday.

Delonte West was the ringleader in the win over Minnesota. The point guard scored 17 of his 31 points after regulation and added 10 assists for the Celtics, who are a surprising 5-4 since a franchise-record 18-game losing streak.

Boston's other five-game winning streak came from December 9-16.

The Celtics started this winning streak by rallying from a double-digit deficit in the second half for a 77-72 victory at Houston on February 26.