Lorenzen Wright had the right formula for dealing with Yao Ming's size.

Memphis Grizzlies' Earl Watson (25) shoots over Houston Rockets' Yao Ming of China during the fourth quarter Saturday, Nov. 1, 2003, in Houston. The Grizzlies beat the Rockets 79-71. [AP]

Wright came up huge in the fourth quarter as he scored 13 of his 21 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a surprising 79-71 victory over the Houston Rockets.

In Friday's 93-91 home loss to Boston, Wright struggled, scoring just two points on 1-of-8 shooting. But he more than bounced back in this one, doing a majority of his damage against the 7-6 Yao.

Taking Yao away from the basket, Wright scored all of the Grizzlies' points in a decisive 10-2 run that provided a 70-63 lead with 5:57 remaining.

"We just made shots tonight," Wright said. "Every time they (Rockets big men) came out on us, a different person would rotate the ball."

"Tonight our second unit was terrific," Memphis coach Hubie Brown said. "Lorenzen Wright carried us. He was just exceptional."

Wright finished 10-of-17 from the field and also grabbed six rebounds before fouling out with under two minutes remaining. The big game by Wright sparked a huge effort by Memphis' bench, which outscored Houston's reserves by a lopsided 44-8.

"We got open shots last night," Wright said. "Maybe it was first-game jitters."

"That's what (the second unit) is capable of doing," said Grizzlies forward Shane Battier, who scored seven points off the bench.

Yao had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who committed 24 turnovers that the Grizzlies turned into 26 points.

"We did not react well to pressure," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We were discombulated a lot offensively. We were playing more frustrated than composed."

After Maurice Taylor drilled a 19-footer to give the Rockets their last lead at 61-60 with 8:45 remaining, Wright took over as he keyed a 13-2 burst.

Off a pass from backup point guard Earl Watson, Wright converted a layup with 7:51 left to give the Grizzlies the lead for good.

But Wright was far from done as he he sank four straight jumpers around a dunk by Houston's Kelvin Cato, pushing the advantage to 70-63 with 5:58 to go. Mike Miller made a driving layup and Wright sank 1-of-2 free throws with 2:43 to play, capping the burst.

"We rode him (Wright) tonight," Battier said. "He was disappointed after going 1-for-8 last night."

The Rockets got as close as 75-71 on Yao's layup with 52 seconds left. But he could not convert the three-point play, and Steve Francis committed an offensive foul before Watson sealed things with a jumper with 22 seconds to go.

Watson ran the team for most of the fourth quarter in place of starting point guard Jason Williams, who finished with two points on 1-of-8 shooting and seven assists. Watson scored nine points and handed out four assists.

Pau Gasol added 12 points and Stromile Swift 10 for the Grizzlies, who shot 42 percent (35-of-84). They had 24 assists on 35 baskets.

The Grizzlies also were able to win despite going just 6-of-11 from the line compared to 21-of-28 for the Rockets.

Francis finished with 19 points and six rebounds for the Rockets, who shot 36 percent (24-of-66) and held a 42-40 rebounding advantage.

"They were way more aggressive than us, and we weren't making our shots," said Francis, who went 6-of-16 from the field and committed six turnovers. "You're not going to win like that. We didn't make our shots and we had too many turnovers."

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