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 shot well, but not often. With the Rockets spending much of the game struggling to run their offense, he took just 12 shots, making six to score 16 points with 10 rebounds.
--F Shane Battier made half his shots overall and half his eight shots from beyond the arc, scoring 14 points. In his past seven games, he has made 18 of 32 three-pointers.
--G Ron Artest led the Rockets in scoring for a second consecutive game, scoring 21 points with nine rebounds. But he made just 1-of-6 three-pointers and committed five turnovers.
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.
