The Rockets have become accustomed to winning as they did Saturday night, when Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady combined for 52 points and no one else topped nine.

That might not be typical ¡ª five Rockets average double figures in scoring ¡ª but everything starts with McGrady and Yao.

But the Jazz don't believe they can be beaten regularly with just two opposing players carrying the scoring load.

"I don't think so," forward Carlos Boozer said. "I hope we're better than that. That's something we're going to have to prove and see."

The Rockets do not believe the Jazz will get that chance.

Yao carried the Rockets in the first half, McGrady in the second half as they took a 1-0 lead in their first-round series. But just as the Jazz could examine the tapes and see missed shots they normally make, the Rockets shooters operating around Yao and McGrady believed they, too, had the sort of open looks they spent the season hoping to find.

"We've had some nights like that in the regular season," guard Rafer Alston said Sunday. "Some nights, two guys are scoring. Some nights, five or six guys are scoring.

"They were doubling Yao pretty hard last night. We were able to establish him pretty deep in the paint, where he was able to score or get fouled. They're going to make a conscious effort to stay on Yao and Tracy and make guys like myself, Luther (Head) and Shane (Battier) beat them."

3-point barrage

Alston, who made 36.3 percent of his 3s in the regular season, made three of 10 on Saturday. Head, a 44.1 percent 3-point shooter, made just one of six. Battier, who made 42.1 percent in the regular season, made two of six.

With the Jazz trapping McGrady on high screens, he could find open shooters and had five assists in the first quarter. But he did not get going until he attacked the double teams, hitting eight of 11 shots in the second half. When he began hitting, Battier, Head and Alston drained 3s in the second-half run.

"We don't want to let their dominance open up opportunities for other guys," Jazz guard Derek Fisher said. "Shane Battier is a guy that can make shots. Rafer Alston. Luther Head. Juwan Howard.

"Those are guys that, if given an opportunity, can make baskets. All of a sudden, we're having to deal with five, six, seven guys going well offensively. At the same time, we don't want to concede baskets to two of the best players in the game, either.

"I think it's just difficult when you decide you're going to wipe two guys out and let everybody else play. They're in the NBA, also. They might not be as talented as Tracy or Yao, but they're good basketball players."

Need outside threat

As much as the Rockets rely on offense coming from the defensive attention drawn by Yao and McGrady, a run of perimeter shooting can open things for them.

The Jazz don't go as far as many teams to twist their defense around Yao or rush help to cut off McGrady. And with the Jazz defenders wary of deserting scorers on the perimeter, the Rockets believe good shooting could open chances for Yao and McGrady as much as Yao and McGrady bring opportunities for good shooting.

"When Tracy and Yao have room to operate, that's usually because Luther is knocking down 3s, Rafer is knocking down 3s, and there's more openings for those guys to play," Battier said. "I don't think we've had too many games where our perimeter guys have been off, Juwan's been off, Chuck (Hayes has) been off, and Tracy and Yao scored big. One leads to the other."

For the Rockets, it could lead to a balance for McGrady's nightly choice among distributing, shooting and driving.

"That's very important," he said. "It will open it up for me if those guys are knocking down shots when they're trapping me on the high pick-and-roll. If we're not knocking down shots, they're going to continue to do that, and it takes the ball out of my hands. It's very important that when they trap like that we're knocking down shots.

"At times, I can beat the double team, but for the most part, those guys do a great job of trapping me, and I've got to find the open man and hope that guys are knocking down shots."

It's a team game

If the Jazz struggle to imagine losing to just two scorers, the Rockets believe it will not come to that again. In that case, both teams might be on to something.

"I made a living myself playing around two guys (Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant on the Lakers)," Fisher said. "People thought you could just guard those two and leave everybody else open. Guys are good enough in this league to make you pay."