Los Angeles  - In another battle between the NBA's elite big men, Yao Ming got the better of Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets continued their recent mastery over the Orlando Magic.

Yao had 20 points with 16 rebounds to Howard's 13 points and 10 boards as the Rockets beat the visiting Magic 93-83 on Tuesday night, their 12th win in the last 14 meetings.

"They are not just a playoff team, they are a top team in this league," Yao said. "They are in the top three in the Eastern Conference. I think it was a very good win for us."

China's 7-foot-6 giant now stands 7-2 all-time against Howard, the league's rebound and blocked shots leader.

"Each year I feel it's harder and harder to guard him, because he keeps getting stronger and he has quickness," Yao said. "He has learned a lot of offensive skills. I'm just going to hang in there and hopefully next year we can match up."

Howard enjoys the challenge, but admits Yao's tough to play.

"It's a good match up," he said. "Yao is very hard to defend. He is offensively gifted and shoots the ball well. I got really frustrated with my game."

Ron Artest scored 16 points and Von Wafer added 14 for Houston (55-28), who remained half a game behind San Antonio for Southwest Division supremacy.

Carl Landry made a triumphant return to the Rockets' lineup with eight points in 20 minutes, after being sidelined with a gunshot wound in his right calf in a late night drive-by incident last month.

"It felt good to be back on the court with my teammates, but most of all getting a win against a good team like the Orlando Magic," he said.

Rashard Lewis had 22 points with 12 rebounds for Orlando (57-20), which dropped one game behind idle Boston for the second seed in the Eastern Conference race.

Rafer Alston scored 15 in his first appearance against this former club since being traded on February 19.

"We didn't make many of our outside shots," Lewis said. "We didn't play with much energy early and it made for a tough game."

With Yao outplaying Howard, the defensive-minded Rockets led virtually the entire game, holding the Magic 19 points below their season average.

"We followed the game plan pretty well," Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks said. "It was a team effort, that's the way we got to get it done and we got it done."

Ahead 67-59 entering the final quarter, the Rockets lead was cut to 71-65 with eight minutes left. But Wafer converted a three-point play, Artest nailed a jumper and Landry followed with two close-in baskets.

After Artest zipped a pass to Wafer for a wide-open layup, Yao drilled an 18-foot jumper, making it 84-74 at the 3:50 mark.

Houston was never challenged the rest of the way en route to its 50th win of the year.

Elsewhere: LA Lakers 122, Sacramento Kings 104 Spaniard Pau Gasol had 26 points with 12 rebounds and Kobe Bryant scored 22 as the visiting Lakers (62-16) beat the league-worst Kings to move one-half-game behind idle Cleveland for the NBA's best record.

San Antonio Spurs 99, Oklahoma City Thunder 89 Tim Duncan had 25 points with 15 rebounds and Drew Gooden scored 20, helping the visiting Spurs to their 50th win, one day after losing Argentine star Manu Ginobili for the rest of the season with a right ankle stress fracture.

New Orleans Hornets 93, Miami Heat 87 (OT) Rasual Butler's three-pointer at the buzzer sent the game into overtime, and David West hit the go-ahead jumper with 8.8 seconds left in the extra session, helping the visiting Hornets clinch a playoff berth.

Chris Paul had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, for New Orleans, which trails fourth-seed Houston by 1.5 games for home-court advantage in the Western Conference playoff race.

Dwyane Wade had a game-high 32 points for Miami, which leads Philadelphia by half a game for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.

Portland Trail Blazers 96, Memphis Grizzlies 93 Brandon Roy scored 24 points, Travis Outlaw hit the go-ahead 14-foot jumper with 13 seconds left and the visiting Trail Blazers remained one-half behind the Rockets for the fourth seed in the West. OJ Mayo topped lottery-bound Memphis with 31 points.

Atlanta Hawks 118, Toronto Raptors 110 Josh Smith and Joe Johnson scored 25 points apiece and the Hawks hit 11 three-pointers to strengthen their hold on the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Charlotte Bobcats 101, Philadelphia 76ers 98 Raymond Felton poured in a career-best 32 points and Gerald Wallace added 29 as the Bobcats regrouped after blowing a 20-point lead. Andre Miller paced Philadelphia with 23 points.

Chicago Bulls 110, New York Knicks 103 Kirk Hinrich scored 25 points, and the host Bulls used a 15-0 fourth-quarter run to take over sole possession of seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.

Minnesota Timberwolves 87, LA Clippers 77 Ryan Gomes had 24 points with 13 rebounds, Kevin Love added 13 points with 15 boards and the visiting Timberwolves beat the Clippers in a match-up of lottery-bound teams.