"With much of his playing time likely to come at center this season, Jordan Hill looked forward to going against the Magic's Dwight Howard to test his progress at the position. Howard dominated anyone the Rockets tried, but Hill said he believes he has made progress since his other night against him.

"It's a good matchup," Hill said. "He's definitely stronger, but I'm definitely quicker. There are opportunities going against him."

Unaware of the NBA dress code for players while walking from the bus to the locker room — a trip that in Hidalgo covered about 50 feet - Rockets rookie Patrick Patterson did some shopping for a nicer shirt before his first preseason game. That is not easy for someone with a 7-1 wingspan.

"I went to two different spots," Patterson said. "They didn't have anything that would fit, but said to try the New York Shop. I thought it would be some nice, fancy stuff. I get there and it says, 'New York Western Shop.' We walk in and there's cowboy boots, belts, buckles all over the place. One little section on the wall had nice shirts.

"The shirts that I saw hanging up, cowboy shirts, I know my teammates would have given me so much stuff if I wore a cowboy shirt.""