(The Monitor): Rockets' additions of Ariza, Terry making big difference

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DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
HIDALGO — When the Rockets went shopping in f

Among them were defense, toughness and shooting. Where they found most of that was the acquisitions of forward Trevor Ariza and guard Jason Terry.
Ariza brings defense and shooting. Terry brings shooting and versatility. Both bring veteran leadership, both are NBA champions. Ariza won with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008-2009 and Terry prevailed with the Dallas Mavericks in 2010-11.

They are the only players of these Rockets boasting NBA championship jewelry.

"They're very mature players," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "They know inside of a game, there's a lot of ups and downs. Inside of a practice, there are a lot of ups and downs. The young guys are up, down and all over the place. But they're just steady.

“Last year, there were times we got frenetic and everybody got uptight about every little thing. These guys just take it in stride."

Their influence was evident in Sunday's 90-83 preseason win against Golden State at State Farm Arena. Ariza pulled the Rockets through a sluggish start and continued from there, finishing with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting to go with four steals, three assists and two rebounds.

Terry, acquired from Sacramento in a trade last month, made his debut as a Rocket after sitting out the previous four preseason games with a hamstring injury. He had six points and two steals in 14 minutes off the bench.

“This is his third day of playing since the first day of training camp,” McHale said of Terry. “But he knows how to play. He makes a lot of simple plays, he can make shots. He’s a veteran.”

This is Ariza's second stint in Houston. He was with the Rockets in 2009-2010, averaging 14.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists before being traded to New Orleans in the offseason. He was acquired as a free agent via trade in July.

Ariza, 29, said the mindset is surer in Houston this second time around.
“There were a lot of questions the first time I was here," Ariza said. "Was Yao (Ming) going to be healthy? Was T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) going to be healthy? They both weren’t 100 percent. But now we have a healthy Dwight (Howard), James (Harden), TJ (Terrence Jones) coming into his own, me, Jet (Terry) … it’s now about meshing together.”

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