Yao made his usual impact for the Houston Rockets by scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, right around his season averages.

But Golden State didn't pull out of a midgame shooting funk until it was too late, and eventually had its modest two-game winning streak end with an 119-108 loss at Oracle Arena.

Tracy McGrady, who rejoined the Rockets' starting lineup after missing seven games with soreness in his left knee, finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

"We didn't make enough shots for us to win, and we missed too many defensive assignments to give ourselves a real good chance," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "The mistakes that were made were hustle mistakes, and I don't mind those as much."

The Warriors stayed true to their new "European" philosophy, as Nelson coined it earlier this week, by often making the extra pass and trying to find the open man.

But all of the unselfishness in the world isn't going to help, if the team hits just 37.2 percent (29 of 78) of its shots in the first three quarters, as the Warriors did Friday. They finished 43 of 107 (40.2 percent) from the field and had 23 assists.

Typifying the Warriors' offensive frustrations were Stephen Jackson and guard Jamal Crawford, who combined to make just 3 of 21 shots. And with an eye on tonight's game at Denver, Nelson sat his starters for most of the fourth quarter.

In the second and third quarters, the Warriors were 18 of 55 from the field.

"We're moving the ball great. We just have to knock down shots," said Crawford, who had four points and three assists. "And it'll happen for us."

Jackson's left hand has been bothering him for the better part of three weeks. And in the five games he's played this month, he's shooting a combined 24-for-71.

"We've got some guys struggling a little bit on the offensive end, and there's probably some reasons for that," Nelson said. "I think (Jackson) is more left-handed than we talk about, because he does like to go left and use that left hand."

With Ronny Turiaf missing the game because of the flu, the responsibility of guarding Yao fell mainly on Biedrins, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds on Friday.

When the two teams played on Nov. 5, Turiaf had done a decent job defending Yao, at least early on. But the Frenchman fouled out early in the second half, and Yao went on to score 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Rockets to a 131-112 win.

On Friday, Yao picked up his second foul with 2:55 left in the first quarter and sat out until just over six minutes were left in the first half.

By that time, the Rockets had stretched their two-point lead at the end of the first quarter to an 11-point advantage thanks to eight points from forward Carl Landry. The Warriors also helped by hitting just 8 of 26 shots in the second quarter and turning the ball over three times.

Houston didn't seem to miss Ron Artest, who stayed in Houston with a sore right ankle. Six players scored in double figures, and the Rockets were 41 of 88 (46.6 percent) from the field.

Guard C.J. Watson had 17 points, the third straight time he's scored in double figures, and six rebounds.

Anthony Randolph had his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and fellow rookie forward Rob Kurz had a career-high 10 points.

Contact Curtis Pashelka at cpashelka@bayareanewsgroup.comrockets 119, Warriors 108today: at Denver, 6 p.m. TV: CSNBA. Radio: 680-AM