ouston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said he's not concerned about All-Star center Yao Ming risking further injury by trying to play for his home country in the Beijing Olympics in August.

The 7-foot-6 Yao had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot on March 3, a procedure that will force him to miss the rest of the National Basketball Association season.

Doctors have estimated a four-month recovery period for Yao, leaving China's most popular athlete about five weeks to get in shape for the Olympics, which start Aug. 8. Yao said missing the Games would be the biggest setback of his career.

``Our doctors think he'll be OK and be able to play, so I'm listening to them,'' Alexander said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio's ``On the Ball'' program.

The Rockets have an 8-0 record since losing Yao to stretch their winning streak to 20 games, matching the second-longest in NBA history. Houston, with a 44-20 mark, is one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the Western Conference with 18 games left.

Alexander, who has owned the Rockets since 1993, said he's surprised the team has been so successful without Yao, who averaged 22 points and 10.8 rebounds before the injury. With a victory tomorrow against the Charlotte Bobcats, Houston's win streak would be second only to the NBA-record 33 consecutive victories by Wilt Chamberlain's Lakers in 1971-72.

``I didn't think they would be this good,'' Alexander said. ``That's surprising. But I called Yao and he said to me, `Don't worry, we'll be OK.' So he knew something I didn't.''

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