HOUSTON — LeBron James drove to the basket in the fourth quarter, trying to spark a last-ditch comeback for the Cavaliers against the Houston Rockets.

Yao Ming was there to block his dunk attempt and James twisted his ankle, a fitting end to a terrible night for Cleveland.

James went an entire game without an assist for the first time in his career and the Cavaliers lost Ben Wallace for four to six weeks in a 93-74 loss to Houston.

The Rockets, meanwhile, showed they just might be contenders in the Western Conference.

Yao scored 28 points and Ron Artest added 15 while harassing James on defense most of the night, leading the Rockets to their six consecutive win and ninth straight at home.

"It is a big win," said Yao, who hit 13 of 15 shots despite Cleveland's constant double-teams. "We played against one of the best quality teams in this league. That is a really good test for us to see how far we can go."

James scored 21 points, but went 7-for-21 from the field with three turnovers. He left for good with 4:03 left, the only time in 493 NBA games (counting playoffs) he failed to record an assist.

The Cavaliers had season-low point totals in the first (11) and third (10) quarters.