Houston's Chinese center Yao Ming scored 24 points and collected 17 rebounds Sunday as the Rockets continued to roll without injured star Tracy McGrady. The Rockets notched a 93-83 victory over the woeful Memphis Grizzlies, taking a 53-37 halftime lead that they never relinquished.

Luis Scola collected 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who improved to 10-2 since swingman McGrady announced he intended to have season-ending knee surgery. "We just wanted to send a message both to our opponent and ourselves that we need to play strong," Yao said. "We cannot play like we played the last two times against them in their house."