They came to see the King. Yep, NBA royalty - LeBron James - was in the house.

But while James is arguably the best player in the NBA (you can argue it, but for now Kobe Bryant remains the best), he wasn't the best player at Toyota Center on Thursday night.

That was Yao Ming. King Rocket.

Yao had 28 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rockets to their season-best sixth straight victory - and ninth in a row at home - a 93-74 pasting of Cleveland.

A staunch defensive effort from start to finish is definitely worthy of note. The Rockets held the Cavaliers to 11 points in the first quarter, which matched Cleveland's worst output in any period this season. The Rockets topped that in the third, allowing only 10 points as they stretched a five-point halftime lead to 18.

All the while, the Cavaliers couldn't match the play in the middle from the big fella. Cleveland's star (21 points) couldn't match the Rockets' star.

It is this Yao who can lead the Rockets to playoff glory.

"We all know our roles; we just have to play off Yao," reserve Von Wafer said. "If you want to be successful at the end of the day, you've got to play off Yao and play really tough defense.

"As Yao goes, we go."

13-for-15 night

Yao made 13 of 15 shots and fell only two points shy of reaching 30 for the seventh time this season. You can credit the extended garbage time for that - the Cavaliers bowed to Yao and the Rockets a tad early, pulling James and their other starters with more than four minutes remaining and Houston ahead by 16.

James limped off the court with a slightly sprained ankle that he suffered getting stuffed by Yao in one of the highlight plays of the night.

But most of Yao's best work came on offense.

With the Cavaliers making the unwise choice of playing behind him in the post in single coverage for much of the night, Yao was at his "give me the ball" best. He had an effect on almost every offensive possession.

"I took about three possessions to read the defense," Yao said. "The double-team from the other big (man) on the weak side, I didn't see it. That slowed me down at the beginning."

Yao committed two early turnovers but quickly figured things out. He scored 12 points in the second quarter and matched the Cavs by himself with 10 in the third.

"When they play one-on-one against me," he said, "I just need to get to my position and use my hook shot and turnaround jumper."

Yao did more than that. He was patient, smart and efficient. He worked both sides of the paint.

He threw down when he got a step on a defender, once even dunking on James, who tried to block a drive. It was textbook post play.

Yao needs to check that book out from the library and hold on to it well past the return date. Better yet, he should check out copies for his teammates.

The King, the other one, wasn't having so much fun. Ron Artest and Shane Battier made sure of that.

Duo dandy on defense

James didn't seem too interested in bumping chests with Artest much. He settled mostly for jumpers, making just seven of 21 shots. Hold-ing James to a point per shot is a great defensive night.

When Artest wasn't harassing James, Battier jumped in for work, drawing two charges on him. It didn't matter that the Rockets' defensive stalwarts didn't do much on the other end (Artest was 5-for-15, and Battier had a single field goal); their job was to control James, and they did.

On some nights, the Rockets will need Artest to bring more offense. But when Yao is bringing it, not much else is needed, as evidenced by their 23-2 record when he scores at least 20 points.

Though Luis Scola early (10 of his 14 points in the first half) and Wafer late (14 of his 19 in the second half) made valuable contributions Thursday, they, like the Cavs, had to bow to King Rocket.

"Yao," said Cleveland coach Mike Brown, "was awesome."

jerome.solomon@chron.com