"Rockets forward Jordan Hill said his left ankle was sore after landing awkwardly on it Sunday, but the ankle is "playable."

"He knows what we want him to do," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "He knows he has to rebound the ball for us. He has to be around the basket. If he's not doing that, maybe there is something going on (with the ankle)."

Hill has been a key off the bench, usually playing with center Brad Miller working in the high post. That makes it important that Hill bring consistent energy, especially on the boards.

"Jordan's the only guy who can go after the ball and go get it on both ends of the court, and we need Brad on the floor for offensive purposes," Adelman said. "He helps everybody when he's on the floor."

With Yao Ming calling for a sense of urgency for the Rockets to not wait for him and Aaron Brooks to return from ankle injuries, Rockets coach Rick Adelman indicated that has been a theme of talks in recent days.

"We're not trying to sit around waiting for him," Adelman said. "We just have lost a lot of close games. We haven't finished games out. We've talked about it all the time. You have to play with the people you have. You can't say when this guy gets back we're going to be turning it on."