HOUSTON – Houston Rockets center Yao Ming will miss the rest of the National Basketball Association postseason with a broken left foot, team said.

The towering Chinese star was clearly in pain in the fourth quarter of Houston's 108-94 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night and hobbled off the court in the waning minutes.

The Rockets said earlier Saturday he appeared to have a sprained ankle, would receive treatment and be re-evaluated on Sunday.

But further examination revealed a hairline fracture that the team said will take eight to 12 weeks to heal.

The Rockets host game four of the best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series on Sunday, with the Lakers leading 2-1.

Yao had his sixth straight double-double on Friday with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Yao has been the key to the Rockets' offense since Tracy McGrady had season-ending knee surgery in February, and Houston finished 21-8 without McGrady.

Yao, who played 77 games this season, has battled leg and foot injuries in the past three seasons, including in his left foot.

He missed the 2006 playoffs after surgery on a broken bone in his left foot four games before the end of the 2005-06 regular season.

In February of last year he suffered a stress fracture in his foot and again missed the playoffs, but recovered in time to represent China in the Beijing Olymics in August.

While Yao had been optimistic he would be able to play on Sunday, Rockets coach Rick Adelman was prepared for the worst.

"We have to play to our strengths," Adelman said. "Everybody has to play to their strengths and understand what they can do to help us win. You do it collectively. There's strength in numbers, and that's what we have to understand."

Adelman noted that his team has battled injuries all year and still won 53 games.

"We've won without people all year long," Adelman said. "It's just one more case. You can't dwell on who's not here.

You have to dwell on who is here. These guys truly believe, if we go out and play the way we're capable of playing, we can win a game."

The Rockets did receive some good news Saturday when NBA officials downgraded a foul called against Ron Artest on Friday to ensure he would not be suspended for game four.

The league ruled after a video replay analysis that Artest's foul on Spaniard Pau Gasol in the Lakers' 108-94 triumph Friday did not merit a ban.