Steve Francis had 26 points and Yao Ming had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to their fourth consecutive victory over the Phoenix Suns 90-85 Friday night.

Yao missed two free throws with 43 seconds left, but then hit two with 30 seconds to play. Francis added two foul shots with 22 seconds remaining and two more with 10 seconds left to clinch it.

The Rockets are in first place in the Midwest Division, the first time they've been there after five or more games since Dec. 21, 1997.

Stephon Marbury led the Suns with 33 points, 22 in the first half. Amare Stoudamire had 18 points and a season-high five blocks.

Joe Johnson's 3-pointer gave the Suns a 65-64 lead after three quarters. Bostjan Nachbar had five quick points to lift the Rockets into a 69-69 tie, and a 6-0 run gave Houston a lead it would not relinquish.

Marbury scored nine of the Suns' first 11 points of the second quarter as Phoenix took a 32-31 lead. Behind eight points from Stoudamire the rest of the quarter, Phoenix led by as many as eight.

A 10-2 run by Houston made it a one-point game, 54-53 with 5:01 to play in the period, and the Rockets took their first lead of the second half, 62-60, on a three-point play by Yao that completed a 7-0 run with 1:11 to play in the third.

Notes:@ Marbury's 24 points through three quarters were the most anyone had scored against the Rockets in a game this season. Dirk Nowitzki's 23 was the previous high ... The Rockets have four of the NBA's top 25 defensive efforts of the season, limiting Chicago to 66, Miami to 70, New Jersey to 75 and Memphis to 79 points ... It's the first time the Suns have been in last place in the Pacific Division after five or more games since March 1, 1997 ... It was the third sellout in five games at the new Toyota Center.

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