The night began with Bob Sura on the court before the game to determine whether he could hold a basketball, a skill that seemed likely to come up again later.

　　Soon, Tracy McGrady was grimacing in back pain. Minutes later, Yao Ming, who had been scoring easily, was stuck on the bench in foul trouble.

　　Forget Plan B. The Rockets were deep into the alphabet when they found a way out. Monday night, it meant using McGrady as a pseudo-power forward. It meant turn-ing Jon Barry into the go-to scorer. It meant send-ing Mc-Grady and Yao at Ricky Davis for the Rockets' first stop in eight fourth-quarter minutes. It meant finding just enough to hold on for a 97-94 win over the Celtics ?one taken in a way they might never duplicate.

　　"It was certainly a good one to grind out," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Guys hung in there well. Barry gave us a great jolt when we needed it. He gave us a cushion and we hung on. Thank God the game is only 48 minutes."

　　McGrady, who reduced his league-leading workload to 40 minutes, might not have lasted much more than 48.

　　His scoring ended much earlier when, after making five of 14 shots through three quarters, he did not take another. David Wesley's shooting was not much healthier (just two of 11). Yao was sharp and finished with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

　　But by then, he had picked up his fourth foul and was back on the bench.

　　Instead, the Rockets turned to Barry for a burst of scoring more sudden and stunning than his 19-point show when McGrady was out last week against the Magic.

　　Barry began the fourth quarter with a jumper from just inside the arc, then knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers, giving him 11 points in less than three minutes and the Rockets a surge to a 10-point lead.

　　"We are used to me putting 25, 30 points on the board," said McGrady, who had 16.

　　"Tonight wasn't that night for me. For him to come off the bench and give us that spark, to go out there and play with confidence to get himself out of that funk he was in ... ."

　　Barry had missed all five of his shots Sunday in Miami, and since his presumed breakthrough game against Orlando had made just four of 20.

　　Heading into the fourth quarter on Monday, he had taken just one shot and had scored two points. But with a 15-point fourth quarter, he gave the Rockets a burst they needed.

　　"It's no secret since I've been (with the Rockets) I've been struggling shooting the ball," said Barry, who had shot 36.2 percent with the Rockets before Monday.

　　"I've liked how I've been passing the ball, but shooting has been a problem. We were kind of down dead in the water to begin the fourth. It was a big stretch to gain a 10-point lead and hold on with the Ricky Davis Show in the fourth."