Pacers-Rockets Preview

The Houston Rockets are perfect since their last game of January. More importantly, they're perfect since they lost their leading scorer and rebounder for the season.

Two days after All-Star center Yao Ming underwent season-ending surgery on his left foot, the Rockets go for their franchise-record 16th straight win -- and fourth in a row without Yao -- as they host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Houston (39-20) has matched the longest streak in its 41-year history by winning 15 straight games, which is also the longest streak in the league this season.

The Rockets have won 15 in a row twice before -- from Feb. 13-March 18, 1993, and at the beginning of the 1993-94 season en route to their first NBA championship.

"We know how good we are and we're showing it," Rockets guard Tracy McGrady said. "We're a focused group, a group that understands how to win ballgames."

A soft schedule has contributed to Houston's recent success, but the Rockets outmatched a Western Conference contender in Sunday's 103-89 win over Denver. McGrady had 22 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Shane Battier added season highs of 20 points and five 3-pointers as the Rockets improved to 24-3 since Jan. 4.

"It's been fun ... but it's a run that we're not satisfied by," Battier said. "We feel like we still have a lot of improvement and that's the exciting part. I don't think we're playing our best."

Yao, who was leading the team with 22.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot Monday, and is expected to need four months to recover. McGrady and the Rockets, however, remain unfazed.

"We believe despite losing Yao, we're still a good team," McGrady told the Rockets' official Web site. "We're right there with the best of them. We're not worrying about what anyone says. But opinions are going to change eventually."

The Pacers (24-36) have also been without their top post player as Jermaine O'Neal has missed six weeks with a knee injury. It's unclear when he'll be able to return.

Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy has stepped up in O'Neal's absence, averaging a career-high 18.2 points and shooting a career-best 47.8 percent from the field. He has topped 30 points in three of his last six games, including back-to-back performances in which he's matched his career high of 36.

He was 11-for-17 from the field in Indiana's 128-106 win over Milwaukee on Sunday.

"Mike is a hell of a scorer," said Pacers coach Jim O'Brien, whose club is seeking its first three-game win streak since Dec. 15-19. "He gets on a roll, and we try running him off as many pick-and-rolls as we can. Whenever Mike or Danny (Granger) score a lot of points, a lot of it has to do with our tempo. The last couple games, our tempo has been where it needed to be."

However, teams have had a hard time maintaining their tempo against the Rockets, who are holding opponents to 88.7 points and 41.4 percent shooting from the field since their run began with a win over Golden State on Jan. 29.

The Pacers solved the Rockets' defense on Feb. 1, but still fell 106-103 at home to give Houston the second win of its current streak. Granger and Dunleavy had 22 points and 14 points, respectively, but combined to shoot 13-for-36 from the field in that game.