<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For those who longed for last season, when the Rockets suffered so long and lost so often playing without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, they revisited those dark days for bad time's sake Wednesday. The Golden State Warriors took Yao out with an all-hands-on-deck defense around him. After seven minutes, McGrady went out for the night because of a stiff lower back. Without them, the Rockets went from short-handed (in falling behind by as many as 16 points) to simply coming up short, with the Warriors pulling away for a 110-99 victory at Toyota Center. But before the Rockets seemed condemned to a return to their short-handed struggles, coach Jeff Van Gundy insisted they can defeat such defenses, and McGrady repeatedly vowed he was "not concerned, not at all." "My back has been stiff for about a week now, and it's just getting worse," McGrady said. "(Wednesday) was just one of those days where I felt like I didn't want to risk anything going out on the basketball court because it was tight. "It's not related to my issues I had in the past. It's just a tight back. ... I have no concerns, no worries." McGrady, who received treatment for his back Monday, said he was questionable to play Friday but certain to play on the upcoming trip, beginning Sunday in Sacramento. For the Rockets, finding their way through similar surround-Yao defenses could be trickier. The Warriors started 6-9 Al Harrington on Yao and kept at least one defender in front of him and one behind him. Yao took only four shots, making two. But the greater problem was the turnovers the Rockets racked up trying to force the ball to Yao through that defense. They had 20 after three quarters, more than in any complete game since Jan. 24. They finished with 24, one shy of their season high.</div> Source-->Houston Chron
