--F Carl Landry came off the bench to serve as the Rockets' answer to Amare Stoudemire. While the Suns spent stretches of the game posting up Stoudemire on every possession, the Rockets did the same with Landry, until he had rolled up a career-high 27 points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes.

--G Aaron Brooks effectively directed the Rockets' offense most of the night, collecting a career-high 13 assists with just one turnover. But as easily as he could get his shot, he could not knock enough down, making just 5-of-18 to score 16 points.

--G Trevor Ariza had 19 points but faded badly down the stretch. Ariza made just 1-of-7 fourth-quarter shots, and that came when the Suns were just about heading to the locker room in the final seconds.

MEDICAL WATCH:

--G/F Tracy McGrady (left knee) has been working his way back from microfracture knee surgery, participating in portions of practices. He is scheduled for an MRI on Monday before he will be cleared to return to full participation.

--C Yao Ming (left foot) is expected to miss the season after extensive surgery to repair a fractured bone and reshape the operation of his foot to remove stress on the area.