Playing only his second home game in Houston, McGrady left midway through the third quarter with a right hip strain and didn’t return. He finished with 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
The star guard limped out of the arena after the game and said he wasn’t sure if he would be able to play Thursday against Minnesota.
The Rockets have won three straight since losing their first two games of the season in Detroit and Toronto. They’ve beaten the Grizzlies twice during that streak, sandwiching those wins around a victory over Sacramento on Saturday.
Howard, one of the forgotten players in the summer trade with Orlando that fetched McGrady, picked up the scoring slack in his teammate’s absence.
The Rockets’ newest sixth man shot 7-of-12 from the field and made all six free throws, providing a timely boost on a night when Houston’s preferred 1-2 scoring punch of Yao and McGrady was nowhere near peak efficiency.
Houston also managed to overcome some extremely sloppy ball handling, committing 24 turnovers that led to 26 points for Memphis.
The Grizzlies were hurt by the absence of forward James Posey, a former Rocket, who missed the game with a sprained left foot. Shane Battier took his spot in the lineup, going 2-of-4 for six points.
Stromile Swift led the Grizzlies with 18 points, Pau Gasol added 15 and Bonzi Wells had 13.
辅助阅读：
NBA火箭队周三再度对阵灰熊队，虽然得分王麦克格雷迪因伤提前退场，但凭借姚明14分11个篮板和霍华德20分的表现，火箭队最终以90-87再次战胜灰熊。
Vocabulary:
limp: to walk lamely, especially with irregularity, as if favoring one leg（跛行）
punch: a tool for forcing a pin, bolt, or rivet in or out of a hole（打孔机，文中指二人的得分组合）
