NBA: Houston 100, Los Angeles Lakers 92

LOS ANGELES, May 5 (UPI) -- Yao Ming had 28 points and 10 rebounds Monday to lead Houston past the Los Angeles Lakers 100-92 in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Yao went to the locker room briefly after injuring his knee in the fourth quarter but returned to action a few minutes later to hit a key jump shot and sink six free throws for the Rockets -- who used a 9-0 run in the fourth to take control of the game from the cold shooting Lakers.

Ron Artest finished with 21 points and seven assists, Aaron Brooks scored 19, and Luis Scola had 10 points and eight rebounds for Houston -- which is in the second round for the first time since 1997.

Kobe Bryant led LA with 32 points and eight rebounds but he was just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Pao Gasol had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday in Los Angeles.