"With a little less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter Tuesday night, a light but steady chorus of boos greeted former Rockets star Tracy McGrady as he took the court at Toyota Center.

McGrady still calls the Houston area home. But wearing the Detroit Pistons' blue uniform instead of the Rockets' white jersey, he quickly realized he wouldn't be welcomed back with the thunderous ovations he often received during his best playing days in town.

The former All-Star didn't receive nearly the villain's welcome LeBron James got last week in the Miami Heat star's return to Cleveland, but McGrady wasn't embraced either. Some applause, however, could clearly be heard as he entered the game for the Pistons, who lost to the Rockets 97-83 despite 11 points in 23 minutes from T-Mac.

"Am I surprised (at the boos)?" McGrady said. "I'm never surprised when I come back into an arena as far as a previous team that I played for. You never know what to expect."

If anything, the crowd of 14,798 actually gave McGrady a better welcome than he received in his first trips back as an opponent when he played against Toronto and Orlando, his first two teams.

"It is what it is," he said. "Some cheers, some boos. I've been through it, seen it, heard it. … The first trip back to Toronto was actually worse. That was something to talk about. That trip back there was bad."

Regardless of the reception, McGrady remains committed to calling this home."