ESPN is reporting that superstar Tracy McGrady was forced to miss the rematch against his previous team, the Orlando Magic, Monday due to a family emergency.

McGrady was at the team's shootaround earlier in the day, but called Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy a couple of hours before the game to tell him about the emergency.

Team officials weren't sure where he was going or how long he would be away.

Houston won the game 89-78.

Last week Tracy McGrady returned to Orlando and faced his former team, tonight is Steve Francis' turn to return to face his former team in his former city.

The Houston Rockets will host the Orlando Magic at the Toyota Center.

The Magic and Rockets both have 22 wins, but the Magic are a firm 6 seed in the East while the Rockets are hanging by a thread with the 8 seed.

Steve Francis returns to Houston for the first time as an opposition player, and Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy is pleading with Rocket fans not to give Francis the same booing treatment that the Magic fans gave McGrady last week.

"I don't know why you'd boo him," Van Gundy said. "Frankly, I was surprised (in Orlando). Those years they had, the leanest teams that you could have, and he (McGrady) carries them into the playoffs, I mean you boo the guy? I was shocked by the booing. But it wasn't all. I watched. There are some smart people out there."

"But there is no reason you would be anything but appreciative for what Steve did. I think what every town should do when somebody comes back is in the introductions, cheer like heck for him, and then cheer your team and your guys during the game. I have no idea why (McGrady was booed). I would just chalk it up to ignorance."

Francis said he is most excited about his return not to make a point but for the chance to be back in his house for a night.

"I can't wait to get to my home," Francis said. "I'll just have to see (what the reaction will be tonight). I don't think I burned any bridges with anybody there."

Grant Hill is apparently not as hurt as he appeared to be, and this was evidenced by the 38 minutes he played in a 108-99 loss to the Houston Rockets.

In Tracy McGrady's first visit to Orlando since being traded last summer, he scored 27 points, despite shooitng 1-7 from 3-point territory.

Hill scored 21 points after it was unclear whether or not he would even suit up for the Magic.  Steve Francis led all scorers with 28 points.

Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves lead all players in the Western Conference and Shaquille O?Neal of the Miami Heat and Vince Carter of the New Jersey Nets lead all players in the Eastern Conference in votes received after the fourth returns of the 2005 NBA All-Star Balloting program.

Through the 2005 All-Star Balloting program, NBA fans from around the globe are responsible for voting in the starters for the 54th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Denver on Sunday, February 20. The game will be broadcast live on TNT, Rogers Sportsnet, ESPN Radio and audio in several languages on NBA.com (http://nba.com) at 8 p.m. (EST).

Yao leads all players with 2,153,039 votes. He is followed at the center position in the Western Conference by Sacramento?s Brad Miller (328,537). Garnett, the 2003-04 NBA Most Valuable Player, is third in overall votes received and leads all Western Conference forwards with 1,755,124 votes, followed by San Antonio?s Tim Duncan (1,446,824). Houston?s Tracy McGrady (1,688,159) and Los Angeles Lakers? Kobe Bryant (1,551,177) lead all Western Conference guards and round out the top five vote-getters.

O?Neal leads all Eastern Conference players with 2,099,201 votes, followed at the center position by Detroit?s Ben Wallace (644,543). Carter (1,505,169) and Orlando?s Grant Hill (1,273,846) lead all Eastern Conference forwards. Cleveland?s LeBron James (1,351,369) has regained the lead among Eastern Conference guards followed by Philadelphia?s Allen Iverson (1,341,824).

The Houston Rockets have signed free agent guard Rod Strickland, GM Carroll Dawson announced today.

To make room for the signing, the Rockets have released G Brandin Knight, who made one scoreless appearance vs Memphis after signing a 10-day contract on Sunday. Brandin is brother of Charlotte Bobcats' G Brevin Knight.

"Rod gives us another experienced veteran in our backcourt," Dawson said. "He will give us more depth, as we fight through an assortment of injuries."

Strickland comes to Houston ranked seventh in NBA history with 7,948 career assists and 19th all-time with 1,613 career steals. The 38-year-old Strickland averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 assists in 61 games with Orlando and Toronto last season.

The Houston Rockets recently activated Clarence Weatherspoon and sent Maurice Taylor to the injured list.

Weatherspoon has been on the injured list since Jan. 2 with a right calf strain. He has played in 11 games and averaged 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds.

The Washington Wizards? Larry Hughes and the Houston Rockets? Tracy McGrady today were named the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, January 10 through Sunday, January 16.

Hughes led his team to a perfect 3-0 week averaging 23.7 points on .426 shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 3.67 steals.  He tallied 11 steals over three games and scored 20 points in the second half (11 points in the fourth quarter) for the Washington win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

McGrady guided the Rockets to a 3-0 week with victories over Dallas, New Jersey and San Antonio.  He led his team in scoring with 25.3 ppg on .431 shooting, assists with 7.3 apg and steals with 3.0 spg.  He tops the league in minutes, averaging 45.3 mpg.  On January 12, he tied his season-highs with 11 assists and six, three-point shots at Dallas.

Jim Jackson, the former Houston Rocket traded to New Orleans for guard David Wesley on December 27, continues to vow that he will not be playing for the Hornets.

"No disrespect to the Hornets, but starting over is not what I want to do," Jackson, according to USA Today, told The Blade.

Jackson said he was never consulted before the Houston Rockets traded him to the New Orleans Hornets last month. "I was totally surprised. Surprised and disappointed," Jackson said, adding that he is not considering retirement and is willing to stay out for however long is necessary.

"It's not about the money," he said.

Jackson said he hopes to be playing for another team, although he would not discuss specifics.

Bobby Sura scored a career-high 35 points, including a game-clinching 3-pointer with 1:02 left in overtime, to lead the surging Rockets to a 94-85 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Thursday night.

"I knew I had to step up," said Sura, playing on a knee that had been drained of fluid Tuesday. "I'm hanging in there. I'll fight through it as best I can and try to help our team."

"He shot the heck out of the ball," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I just admire his competitive spirit and his heart and his will. You can't have enough guys who have courage like that."