HOUSTON — Yao Ming will miss the rest of the playoffs because of a broken left foot.

The Houston center limped off the court late in the Los Angeles Lakers' 108-94 victory over the Rockets on Friday night. Yao missed yesterday's practice to get treatment. After further examination, the team said the 7-foot-6 All-Star had a hairline fracture.

The Rockets say Yao will need 8-12 weeks to recover, though no surgery is required.

The Rockets and Lakers play Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series today. The Lakers lead the series 2-1.

The NBA downgraded a flagrant foul called against Houston's Ron Artest, determining that the play should not have been severe enough to warrant an ejection.

Artest was whistled for a flagrant foul penalty two, an automatic ejection, for his hard foul on Pau Gasol late in Friday's game.

Artest will not face a suspension for Game 4 today.

OBITUARY

CHUCK DALY DEAD AT 78

Chuck Daly, who coached the original Dream Team to the Olympic gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons, died yesterday in Jupiter, Fla., at age 78 after a bout with pancreatic cancer.

Daly had a career regular-season record of 638-437 in 13 NBA seasons. In 12 playoff appearances, his teams went 75-51.