Los Angeles ? The Los Angeles Clippers figured out how to slow down Yao Ming.

The Clippers used Michael Olowokandi, Wang Zhizhi and Sean Rooks against Houston’s rookie center on Sunday and Los Angeles took a 90-89 victory over the Rockets.

Eric Piatkowski put up a running 14-footer with 1.4 seconds remaining and Yao was called for goaltending on the play that gave the Clippers the win.

The ball was rolling around inside the hoop when the Rockets’ 7-foot-6 player swatted at it. The ball still dropped through the basket.

Yao, averaging 17.4 points over his last five games, attempted just four shots and was held to four points. He had seven rebounds in his 28 minutes.

“I thought everybody did a good job,” Los Angeles coach Alvin Gentry said of his team’s defense against Yao, the No. 1 draft pick. “He has gotten some big numbers the past four or five games.”

The Clippers simply didn’t allow Yao to get good shooting position.

“We did a good job of holding our positions on him, and we did a good job of coming down on him and not letting him get into any kind of rhythm,” Gentry said.

Yao said the Clippers made it difficult for him to get off a shot.

“Olowokandi (a 7-footer) is very strong and he has very good moves,” Yao said. “Wang Zhizhi also guarded me very well.”

Houston's Steve Francis, left, tries to keep Los Angeles Clippers' forward Elton Brand (42) from making a shot in the second half of Sunday's game. The Clippers won 90-89.

Wang, a 7-1 former teammate of Yao’s on China’s national team, said, “He played well but we stepped up the defense on him. Yao plays a great game and he is going to have his time in the NBA.”

Houston’s Steve Francis, who had 31 points, missed an off-balance 12-footer at the buzzer.

Elton Brand had 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for just the second time in seven games.

The Clippers led by 17 at the end of the first quarter and were up 48-38 at halftime, but they trailed 69-66 heading into the final 12 minutes.

They were down 89-83 with 1:24 left, but got three points from Andre Miller and a hook by Olowokandi to close to 89-88 with 38 seconds to play.

The Rockets went the final 1:24 without scoring.

“What a tough game,” Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.

Keyon Dooling had 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Glen Rice scored 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting for Houston, all in the second half after taking just one shot in the first half. Rice scored 18 in the third quarter, including going 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and Francis hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Rockets outscored Los Angeles 31-18 in the period.

But after blowing their big early lead, the Clippers came back to win for just the second time in eight home games.

Yao had a breakout game in the same arena a week earlier, scoring 20 points on 9-of-9 shooting as the Rockets beat the Lakers at Staples Center. He went on to score 30 points and grab 16 rebounds in a loss at Dallas on Thursday, then had 18 points in Friday’s victory over Washington.

Sixers 94, Raptors 84

Toronto – Allen Iverson scored 37 points, and Keith Van Horn had 19 points and nine rebounds.

Alvin Williams scored a team-high 25 points for the short-handed Raptors, who have lost five straight. Philly has won three straight.

Toronto is 3-7 without Vince Carter, who could return to its lineup as soon as Wednesday after being cleared to play by a doctor this weekend. Carter is recovering from a strained quadriceps tendon in his left knee. Iverson, who has scored 30 or more points in each of his last four games, had 23 points in the second half.

Magic 77, Heat 75

Orlando, Fla. – Mike Miller had 31 points, including the game-winning basket, and a career-high 19 rebounds.

The Magic, missing league-leading scorer Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill because of injuries, won on Miller’s 22-foot jumper with 1 second remaining. Miller shot 13-for-24 and fell one point shy of his career high. Orlando also had a season-high 14 points from Shawn Kemp.

Lakers 111, Bucks 99

Los Angeles – Shaquille O’Neal scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his second game of the season, and Kobe Bryant had a triple-double to lead Los Angeles over Milwaukee.

Bryant had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his third triple-double of the season and the sixth of his career.

Derek Fisher had 21 points and seven assists, and all five Los Angeles starters scored in double figures.

Michael Redd led Milwaukee with 19 points. Jason Caffey had season-high totals of 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Sam Cassell had 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Wolves 106, Knicks 88

New York – Kevin Garnett had 25 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as Minnesota topped overmatched New York.

Using their substantial height advantage to control the inside, the Wolves got 17 points from Joe Smith and 14 from Gary Trent to win easily while shooting 57 percent from the field.

Allan Houston scored 32 points despite being defended by Garnett, but the Knicks trailed by double digits for almost the entire second half in losing for the 10th time in 12 games this season.

Sonics 91, Spurs 90

San Antonio – Brent Barry’s 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining rallied the Supersonics. Seattle, which trailed from the second quarter until the Barry’s shot, was led by Gary Payton with 26 points. Desmond Mason added 15, and Rashard Lewis had 13 to help snap the SuperSonics’ three-game losing streak.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 22 points, and David Robinson added 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Spurs, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Duncan gave San Antonio a 90-88 lead with one free throw with 7.8 seconds to play, only to see Barry hit the winning shot.