Yi hits high, Bucks top Cats

Rookie Yi Jianlian scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Michael Redd added 27 points to help the Milwaukee Bucks outlast the road-weary Charlotte Bobcats 103-99 on Saturday.

The game was delayed 15 minutes after the Bobcats needed nearly 11 hours to get to Milwaukee after their flight left Charlotte at 9am. After several diversions and a refueling and food stop, the team finally landed at Midway Airport in Chicago at 4:30pm and bused to the Bradley Center, arriving 60 minutes before the scheduled tip-off.

Yi, the sixth overall pick in the 2007 National Basketball Association draft, was at his best late in the game.

He stole the ball and streaked down the court before slamming home a dunk that gave Milwaukee an 85-63 lead with 2:56 left in the third. He was 12-of-12 from the floor until he missed an 18-footer with 2:31 left in the third. Yi played a season-high 42 minutes.

Yi's performance showed vast improvement from his first effort against the Bobcats.

In that, his second NBA outing, Yi scored just two points on 1-of-6 shooting in a 99-102 loss at Charlotte.

Mo Williams added 22 for the Bucks, who improved to 9-3 at home and snapped a two-game losing streak.

Jason Richardson scored a season-high 30 points for the Bobcats before fouling out late in the fourth. Emeka Okafor and Raymond Felton scored 17 points apiece, Gerald Wallace added 15 and Nazr Mohammed 14.

Charlotte saw its two-game winning streak snapped. The team hadn't lost since part-owner Michael Jordan practiced with the team earlier in the week, when he joined a practice drill with the team a day after sitting in on a film session.

Meanwhile, Yi's compatriot and Houston center Yao Ming suffered a sprained thumb in the Rockets' 116-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Yao was hurt under the Chicago basket when he and Bulls forward Joe Smith both went for a loose ball on the floor with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Yao collected 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks before departing directly to the Rockets locker room.

However, after having his hand X-rayed Yao returned with seven minutes left in the final quarter and chipped in two more points on the night.

Tracy McGrady and Bonzi Wells scored 20 points apiece to lead the Rockets, who were 10-of-20 from 3-point range as they snapped their second three-game skid of the season.

The Bulls have lost three of their last four games. Despite high expectations, the Bulls (9-16) have the third worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 22 points and Deng added 21 points and seven rebounds.

In other NBA games, it was: Spurs 99, Clippers 90; Suns 122, Raptors 103; Pacers 93, Wizards 85; Heat 104, Jazz 102; Nets 100, Warriors 95; 76ers 99, Grizzlies 97; and Hornets 110, Timberwolves 76.