Houston Rockets' Aaron Brooks, left, reacts after scoring a basket as Portland Trail Blazers' Rudy Fernandez (5) walks behind Thursday in Houston.<BR><I>AP Photos</i>

HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets finally advanced in the NBA playoffs.

Ron Artest scored 27 points, Yao Ming had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Houston reached the second round for the first time since 1997, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 92-76 in Game 6 on Thursday night.

The Rockets drafted Yao with the top overall pick in 2002, and he’s played on three of the teams that lost in the opening round. He broke his foot late last season and watched from the bench as the Rockets lost again.

He embraced teammates with a wide grin moments after this one ended, savoring every moment after his seven-year wait.

“It’s a big step for me,” he said. “Even when the clock was running down, I’m still not believing that it’s coming true. Obviously now that we know that feeling, we’ve got to keep moving forward.”

Aaron Brooks scored 13 points and Shane Battier tied a career playoff-high with nine rebounds as the Rockets won for the first time in their last seven first-round series.

Houston, which lost Tracy McGrady to season-ending knee surgery in February, put this one away with a big second quarter and moves on to play the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night at the Staples Center. The Lakers won all four meetings in the regular season.

Artest was shooting only 37.7 percent from the field in the series before producing his best offensive game. He was already talking about the next round.

“The fans were just so happy to get out of the first round and I’m like ‘I’m just not happy to just be out of the first round,”‘ he said. “That’s just not our goal here. That’s not LA’s goal, that’s not Boston’s goal, that is not Cleveland’s goal. That is not our goal.”

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and Brandon Roy had 22 for the Blazers, who were making their first playoff appearance since 2003. But the Blazers were the youngest team in the playoffs and their inexperience showed. They lost Game 1 in Portland, then dropped all three games in Houston, going out meekly in the finale.

BULLS 128, CELTICS 127 (3 OT) – In Chicago, another overtime thriller has the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics heading for a Game 7.

Derrick Rose scored 28 points and blocked Rajon Rondo’s potential game-winner, and John Salmons scored 35, as the Bulls beat the defending champions 128-127 in triple overtime Thursday night to tie the first-round series at three games apiece.

Ray Allen scored a career playoff-high 51 points for the Celtics, but the series – which has had a record four games go a total of seven overtimes – will go back to Boston for Game 7 on Saturday.

Magic 114, 76ers 89 – In Philadelphia, playing without suspended star Dwight Howard and injured guard Courtney Lee, Orlando beat Philadelphia in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Howard, who was suspended one game by the NBA for his elbow on Sixers center Samuel Dalembert in Game 5, will return when the Magic play the winner of the Boston-Chicago series.