Tonight’s attendance of 18,271 marks Houston’s 20th sellout at Toyota Center this season.
Houston won 91-73 to capture its 19th victory in a row (1/29/08-3/10/08), which matches the third longest winning streak in NBA history: 33 by the L.A. Lakers (11/5/71-1/7/1972), 20 by the Milwaukee Bucks (2/6/71-3/8/71) and 19 by the L.A. Lakers (2/4/00-3/13/00).
The Rockets have actually won their last 10 consecutive games by a double-digit margin (2/21/08-3/10/08), which equals the all-time record of 10 by the Washington Capitols in Dec. 1946 and 10 by the New Jersey Nets in Jan.-Feb. 2004.
The Nets scored the opening basket of the game, which marked the first time since the 2005-06 campaign that the Nets have held any kind of lead over the Rockets. New Jersey took a 90-77 win at Houston (3/13/06) in the second meeting that season. Houston then scored the opening points in the next three outings and never trailed in any of those games with New Jersey (12/27/06, 3/9/07 and 12/7/07).
Houston kept New Jersey to just 24-of-79 (.304) from the floor to set the 2007-08 opponent lows for field goals made and field goal percentage. The previous lows were 25 field goals (done twice: last 1/25/08 at Portland) and .313 shooting by the Wizards at Houston (2/26/08). The Rockets also held the Nets to 28 points on .209 (9-43 FG) shooting in the first half to set Houston’s opponent low in field goal percentage for a half, eclipsing the .213 (10-47 FG) mark set by the Wizards in the first half at Houston (2/26/08). Houston also limited New Jersey to an opponent quarter-low .158 (3-19 FG) from the floor in the second stanza, surpassing a .167 mark set by the Hornets in the second quarter at New Orleans (2/22/08).
Tonight was the third time this season that Houston has held an opponent to fewer than 30 points in a half. The Rockets gave up just 29 second-half points to the Trail Blazers at Portland (1/25/08) and limited the Wizards to a franchise-low 23 points in the first half vs. Washington (2/26/08).
New Jersey went 0-for-6 from downtown to become Houston’s third opponent this season to go scoreless from beyond the arc. Minnesota was held 0-for-6 from downtown at Houston (1/11/08) and Atlanta was 0-for-5 from 3-point range at Houston (2/9/08).
Tracy McGrady finished with game-high 19 points and four assists, including a 13-point third quarter.
Rafer Alston had 12 points and three assists, snapping his string of consecutive 20-point outings at three games.
Steve Novak registered a career-high 11 points (4-6 FG, 3-4 3FG), surpassing his 10-point (4-4 FG, 2-2 3FG) outing vs. Utah (1/27/08).
Dikembe Mutombo posted six rebounds and a season-high five blocks. Mutombo has now upped his total to 17 blocked shots (2.43 bpg) over his seven starts for Yao Ming.
With a game-high 10 rebounds tonight, Chuck Hayes picked up his 25th career double-digit rebounding performances and his seventh of this season.
Vince Carter finished with a team-high 13 points and three assists. Carter, who topped the Nets with 32 points at New Jersey (12/7/07), had almost the same number of points in that game as the top three New Jersey scorers from tonight’s outing (35 combined points: Carter-13, Jefferson-12 and Harris-10).

27-3: Houston is 27-3 over its last 30 games, registering 27 wins over a 30-game span within a single season for the first time ever in the club’s history.
Beyond the Arc: Houston connected on 14-of-34 (.412) from beyond the arc vs. New Orleans (3/8/08), setting Houston’s season high in 3-pointers made (prev. high: 13 on 2/24/08 vs. Chicago and 13 on 3/5/08 vs. Indiana) and matching the season best in 3-point attempts (34 on 12/20/07 at Denver and 34 on 3/5/08 vs. Indiana).
Western Conference Player of the Week: Tracy McGrady was named today by the NBA as Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, Mar. 3 through Sunday, Mar. 9. It is his second such honor this season after winning West Player of the Week earlier this season for games played Oct. 30-Nov. 4. Overall, it marks McGrady’s seventh time with the Rockets and the 12th time in his career to be named NBA’s Conference Player of the Week.

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed forward Mike Harris to a 10-day contract. The Rockets also waived guard/forward Gerald Green, who was acquired by Houston via trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 21, 2008.
That was quick! Gerald Green sure didn’t last long. Well, he had wanted minutes, and apparently doesn’t seem to be getting them anywhere. He’s got more game development to do, judging by how many teams have moved him in his short career so far.
As for this news:
Harris (6-6, 240, Rice), who signed with the Rockets as a rookie free agent on July 13, 2007, averaged 5.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while playing in Houston’s first two preseason games this season. Released by the Rockets on Oct. 22, Harris averaged 24.3 points and 11.6 rebounds in just 28 minutes per game in 25 outings with DongGuan (2007-08) of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Harris’ season highs in the CBA included a 46-point, 26-rebound game. The former standout at Rice University also averaged 12.6 points and 7.0 rebounds in five games with Houston in the 2007 NBA Summer League presented by adidas.
In 2006-07, Harris averaged 6.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in five preseason games with the Milwaukee Bucks. Selected third overall in the 2006 D-League Draft by Colorado, Harris also averaged 11.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.54 blocks in 48 games (16 starts) with the 14ers in 2006-07.
Green, who was on the inactive list for five games with the Rockets, scored six points and two rebounds in his only game with Houston vs. Washington (2/26/08).

The Detroit Pistons’ Flip Saunders and the Houston Rockets’ Rick Adelman today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.
Saunders guided the Pistons to a 9-3 (.750) month, which included wins over a trio of top Western Conference teams - Dallas, Phoenix and Denver. The Pistons recorded a 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio for the month, dishing out 20-plus assists in nine of 12 games and committing less than 15 turnovers in all 12 contests. The Pistons outscored their February opponents by 9.5 ppg. In a 90-67 win over Dallas on Feb.3, the Pistons held the Mavericks to 23 field goals. In a 116-86 win at Phoenix on Feb. 24, the Pistons recorded 26 assists on a season-high-tying 46 field goals.
Adelman led the Rockets to a perfect 13-0 record in February, marking the second time in team history that Houston recorded an undefeated month (14-0 in Nov. 1993). The Rockets are currently riding an NBA season long 15-game winning streak. The streak, which began on Jan. 29, ties the Rockets’ franchise record which occurred twice before (1992-93 and 1993-94). Houston outscored its February opponents by 12.6 ppg, while limiting them to a .414 field goal percentage.
                                                          Other nominees for the Coach of the Month were Boston’s Doc Rivers, Cleveland’s Mike Brown, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Phil Jackson, Philadelphia’s Maurice Cheeks, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Utah’s Jerry Sloan.

The Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford and the Houston Rockets’ Luis Scola today were named the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.
Among rookies, Horford is ranked first in rebounds with 10.6 rpg and double-doubles with 16. He set career highs of 20 rebounds on Feb. 6, vs. Lakers, and 20 points on Feb. 29, vs. New York. In addition, Horford recorded seven double-doubles, including three straight to finish the month.  He also became the first Hawk to grab 20 rebounds in a game since Alan Henderson did it on Nov. 26, 2002.
While helping lead his team to a 13-0 record for the month, Scola led all rookies in field goal percentage with .629 percent. He is ranked 15th overall in the NBA this season in field goal percentage with .530.  In addition, Scola was ranked third among West rookies in scoring with 11.7 ppg and recorded a career-high five steals vs. Memphis on Fe. 29, 2008, setting the most by a Rockets player in a game this season.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month were the Los Angeles Clipper’s Al Thornton, Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Young, Seattle’s Kevin Durant and Toronto’s Jamario Moon.

Surgery for Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming was successfully completed this morning at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. Houston Rockets Team Physician Dr. Tom Clanton and his associate Dr. Bill McGarvey performed the surgery to repair a stress fracture in the tarsal navicular bone of his left foot.
“Yao is comfortable and recovering well after surgery,” said Clanton. “At this stage, we will continue to monitor his recovery and begin an aggressive rehabilitation once he is physically deemed ready.”
Statement from Yao Ming: “I am very relieved that everything went well with my surgery today.  I am looking forward to getting better and starting my physical rehab as soon as the doctors say I can.  I would like to thank everyone for their kind wishes during this time and I look forward to the day that I can rejoin my Rockets teammates on the bench.”

Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming will undergo season-ending surgery on Monday, March 3rd  in order to repair a stress fracture in the tarsal navicular bone in his left foot.  The surgery will be performed at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center by Rockets Team Physician Tom Clanton, who is regarded as one of the nation’s top orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons.
Injuries have really messed Yao and the Rockets up for years now. It’s tough to say how Yao can ever stop getting hurt, considering how huge he is. Hopefully he can somehow stay healthy eventually.

InsideHoops.com is breaking exclusive news about Houston Rockets point guard Rafer Alston.
It concerns a legal issue from the summer.
It’s no longer a concern.
The story is here.

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard/forward Bobby Jones to a 10-day contract. To accommodate the signing, Houston has waived guard Adam Haluska, who was acquired by the Rockets via trade with the New Orleans Hornets on Feb. 21, 2008.
Jones (6-7, 215, Washington) has averaged 3.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 76 career games (seven starts) with Philadelphia, Denver and Memphis. Jones was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round (37th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft before having his draft rights sent to the Sixers. Jones averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in 44 games (five starts) during his rookie season in Philadelphia. Traded by the Sixers to the Nuggets on Sept. 10, 2007, Jones averaged 3.3 points and 1.4 boards in 23 outings this season with Denver. Jones, who was waived by the Nuggets on Jan. 7 of this year and signed to the first of two 10-day contracts with Memphis on Jan. 10, averaged 4.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in nine contests (two starts) with the Grizzlies in 2007-08.
Jones will wear jersey #15.

Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming has been lost for the remainder of the 2007-08 NBA season due to a stress fracture in his left foot.
I feel sorry for Rockets fans. They don’t deserve this. Between Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady the team over the last few years has had more injuries than the local hospital.
Here’s what they should probably do now:
- Give Luis Scola a bigger role. If he’s good enough to carry top international teams to victory, he can do more for the Rockets than he’s been asked to so far.
- Tell Rafer Alston to bust out some streetball moves during games. It may make the team lose, but it’ll entertain. He should bounce the ball off Dikembe Mutombo’s head, while moonwalking.
- Put Gerald Green out there and let him try to dunk three-pointers.
- Tell Luther Head to make like Leandro Barbosa and try to score 20 whenever possible.
- Let Mutombo give inspirational speeches to the fans during halftime while dressed like the cookie monster. It’ll amuse the kiddies.