?? --Ron Artest has had other nights in which he has missed shots. Sunday, he missed 13 of 18. But it was what he did before he missed that bothered him.
"I thought we were coming back," Artest said. "I thought the guys played great. Once again, I kind of threw the game away by not just seeing the defense the right way." Artest repeatedly dribbled himself into trouble, holding the ball until he was surrounded inside and letting the offense bog down around him.
"We talked about it," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said of Artest. "I think he needed to look to kick it out better. When you put it on the floor and post up, they were coming up at him. We have to find a way to make sure he sees the play, sees the kick out."
--After months of rehab that left him unable to even complete practices through training camp and the preseason, or so much as travel with the Rockets during the regular season, Steve Francis said he is ready to practice and try to work his way back into the Rockets' rotation.
In a sign of how far he remains from playing, when the Rockets went to Denver with Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier and Brent Barry all unavailable, they did not bring Francis with them. He said, however, he is closer than he has been since the surgery last February.
"There's a lot of miles, of course," Francis said. "I can't really say how I'll play. I can't say because I have not really played. It's all about getting confidence and timing. But I do know I will be back."
?? QUOTE TO NOTE: "Early in the fourth quarter, we got back into the game. I was ready to go. I can say that I wasted my teammates' efforts." -- Yao Ming after Sunday's loss to Denver
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