• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Rockets-Grizzlies

Mar 8, 2009 - 1:59 PM Memphis (16-45) at Houston (40-23) 7:00 p.m. EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- A couple of wins here or a couple of losses there and the Houston Rockets could either be the No. 2 team in the Western Conference ... or the No. 8 group. As it stands now, they're somewhere in the middle, locked in a logjam in the middle of the playoff standings and in a tie with Denver for fourth place.

To put it simply, the Rockets can't afford to lose much ground. They host the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night as they try to keep pace in an ultra-competitive race.

They have weathered the storm since Tracy McGrady went down for the season with a knee injury, going 9-2 in his absence. They recovered from a hard-fought loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday with a 116-112 triumph over the Phoenix Suns two nights later.

Aaron Brooks scored a season-high 30 points and Ron Artest added 21 to lead the way.

The Grizzlies snapped their eight-game losing streak with a rout over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, then fell in a tight battle to Philadelphia on Saturday night. Mike Conley scored a career-high 31 points in a losing cause.