"It would be hard to call Houston coach Kevin McHale's handling of his substitutions against the Blazers on Wednesday something revolutionary or a forward-thinking way of dealing with this season's compacted schedule.

But McHale's ability to get great production out of his reserves does have a benefit in dealing with this season's schedule demands. After the Rockets beat the Blazers 103-96 Wednesday, they took off for Phoenix, where they will play the Suns tonight.

In Phoenix, they should have plenty of rested starters. Leading scorer Kevin Martin played just 15 minutes, 21 seconds Wednesday. Second-leading scorer Luis Scola went 26:20. Starting point guard Kyle Lowry played 25:16, although his night was cut short by an injury."