Houston Rockets Team Report - March 27

(Basketball News) - The Houston Rockets got their brief two-game road trip off on the wrong foot on Friday with a 109-86 setback at the hands of the surging Memphis Grizzlies at the Pyramid.

Steve Francis posted a team-high 17 points for the Rockets, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Yao Ming and Jim Jackson both scored 14 points.

Despite the loss, Houston remained locked in seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race, 2 1/2 games back of the Dallas Mavericks and 4 1/2 in front of the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz, both of whom are tied for the eighth and final spot.

The Rockets will return to the court on Sunday when they head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks at the Bradley Center.They have lost five of seven and seven of their last 10 on the road and are 15-19 away from home this season.

Houston defeated the Bucks earlier in the season and has won two of the last three and five of the last seven meetings. The Rockets, though, have dropped two straight and four of their last five in Milwaukee.