INQUIRER Sports

BOSTON -- China's Yao Ming scored 26 points as the Houston Rockets handed the National Basketball Association champion Boston Celtics their latest loss on Wednesday.

Von Wafer hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 44 seconds to play, and the Rockets held on to beat the Celtics 89-85.

The win snapped the Rockets' own three-game losing streak and ended Boston's 13-game, home-court winning streak.

Aaron Brooks added 19 for the Rockets, who won for the first time on their five-game road trip.

Paul Pierce scored 26 points for Boston, who were held to just 11 fourth-quarter points and shot just 4-of-18 in the final 12 minutes.

Kevin Garnett added 18 points for the Celtics, who have now lost six of eight in the wake of a club-record 19-game winning streak.

The Rockets played without superstar Tracy McGrady, who is being held out of some back-to-back games because of a sore left knee.

Brooks and Yao helped pick up the slack in the first half, as each scored 13 to help Houston to a 52-49 lead.

The Celtics looked ready to take control of the game early on as they made 12-of-18 shots from the field in the first quarter to take a 31-22 lead.

The Celtics stretched the gap to 11 points when Gabe Pruitt hit a jumper with 11:43 remaining in the second.

But the Rockets caught fire, matching Boston's 12-of-18 first-quarter performance.

Houston ended the first half on an 11-3 scoring run to take a 52-49 halftime lead.

The Rockets stretched the lead to seven with the help of their 3-point shooters.

Pierce's 13 points in the third quarter helped the Celtics take a 74-71 lead into the final period, but Boston couldn't hold on to the advantage.