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 Chuck Hayes, Guard Brent Barry.
PLAYER NOTES: --C Yao Ming struggled most of the game, but he began the fourth quarter by making two jumpers over Kurt Thomas that forced the Spurs to change to a fronting defense, and he ended it with two passes to Luis Scola for lay-ups that won the game. He finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in his 37 minutes.
--F Luis Scola, the Spurs' second-round pick in the 2002 draft pick, scored 19 points with 17 rebounds, four assists and three steals. But his biggest plays were the simplest, taking two passes from Yao Ming to produce lay-ups in the last half minute.
--G Ron Artest kept the Rockets in the game when the offense broke down, leading the Rockets with 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting, 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--Carl Landry (gunshot surface wound, left calf) is out.
--Tracy McGrady (microfracture surgery, left knee) is out.
--Joey Dorsey (plantar fasciitis) is out.
