ROTATION: Starters -- Point guard Aaron Brooks, Shooting guard Ron Artest, Small forward Shane Battier, Power forward Luis Scola, Center Yao Ming. Bench -- Guard Kyle Lowry, Guard Von Wafer, Forward Carl Landry, Guard Brent Barry, Forward Chuck Hayes.
PLAYER NOTES: --C Yao Ming made 9-of-11 shots a game after hitting 7-of-9. But there was one that stood out from the rest. Yao hit a three-pointer for the first time since his rookie season, giving the Rockets a six-point lead with 2:12 left. He added another jumper to finish with 23 points, with eight rebounds and three blocked shots, while harassing Emeka Okafor to a 3-of-11 shooting game.
--G Ron Artest struggled with his shot much of the game and had several broken-play episodes in the final minutes. But in the last half-minute, he hit a 17-footer with 22.1 seconds left to give the Rockets the lead and blocked a Vladimir Radmanovic three-point try to seal the win, adding a breakaway dunk before the buzzer.
--F Luis Scola drove the Rockets' offense when it bogged down in the third quarter, going one-on-one on Boris Diaw to score nine of his 15 points. He made seven of 10 shots and added six rebounds.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--G Tracy McGrady (sore left knee) is out.
--F Joey Dorsey (plantar fasciitis) is out.
