Shortly afterward, when the locker room was almost empty, Yao quietly proclaimed to someone, "Tonight is the night."

Then, as if he had an itch that demanded to be scratched - a seven-year itch, as it were - the 7-6 Rockets center went out and played like he had somewhere to go ? the next round of the playoffs.

Yao finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Rockets closed out Portland 92-76 in Game 6 of a Western Conference first-round matchup.

Yao's numbers were not nearly as important as his attitude. He discussed feeling the pressure.

So much pressure that his normal pregame afternoon nap ended 90 minutes short because he couldn't stop dreaming about the game plan, particularly the problems the team has had at times in the series. Was Yao going to play scared in such a big game? Hardly.

"Magically, I feel that pressure I just left it outside the door," Yao said.

Determination shows

That pressure left behind, Yao came to play. He played to win.

From early on, when he kept up with a streaking Steve Blake and batted the Portland point guard's layup off the glass, you knew this was going to be the night. Yao kept making play after play, scratching that itch.

Once, he stepped outside the 3-point line to set a pick for Aaron Brooks, casually drifted back inside - what you might call a slow roll - caught the pass, spun in the lane and threw down a jam.

He helped set the tone defensively with the block on Blake, and he scared the living daylights out of Travis Outlaw, who dared to drive into the big man's territory.

A couple of times Yao looked almost like Dikembe Mutombo, the injured Rocket whom Yao and Ron Artest credited with calming the team with a pregame talk.

Offensively, Yao threw in jump hooks. He hit face-up jumpers. He dominated the paint, getting low when he wanted to, coming high when he needed to. Yao also got nasty when he needed to.

Just before halftime, Carl Landry had a dunk attempt blocked by Joel Przybilla, Yao then showed him how it was done, stuffing it in Przybilla's face, exacting a bit of revenge for a cheap Wrestlemania move the Blazers big man pulled in the first quarter.

To the surprise of some - not his teammates, mind you - Yao even got down and dirty when he had to. Late in the third quarter, Yao dove to secure a low entry pass intended for Greg Oden.

The loose ball involved a pair of overall No. 1 draft picks: Yao in 2002, Oden in 2007.

I don't know if Yao wanted it more, but he wanted it real bad.

"At that time, the way I feel, we were so close to the win," Yao said. "We believe that body language right there - sacrificing ourselves, get on the ground - that would just send a message to the rest of our teammates that we were close, really, really close."

Athletic performance

Yao appeared quicker, more determined than the older-looking youngster.

We know Yao is better than the Blazers' first-year big man. (Oden sat out the 2007-08 season with a knee injury.) Yao is better than every center in the NBA.

Players as good as Yao typically have playoff success. His has been a long time coming.

His 15.8-point average in this series isn't much higher than the 15 points per game he put up in his first playoff experience as an NBA sophomore (2003-04).

But this is a different Yao. A much different Yao.

Strong, confident, smart.

No longer deferring to the likes of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, as was the case the first time he came up short in a playoff series. No longer looking for Tracy McGrady to deliver, as he was the next couple of times he failed to advance.

Young Yao would sit in the locker room and say little.

A little older Yao sat in the locker room and wondered if that night the Rockets took a 40-point waxing in Dallas would be the night.

He wasn't sure if one of those two nights in which the Rockets fell to Utah - Games 6 and 7 in 2007 - would be the night.

This Yao sat in the locker room and said, "Tonight is the night."

Then went out and scratched that itch.

jerome.solomon@chron.com