DALLAS - At first, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy could not identify what had made his team win as it had the past three weeks, or maybe he did not want to sound satisfied with a few good weeks and a rise to the fourth-best record in the Western Conference.

Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo, left, of Congo, and guard Tracy McGrady celebrate the Rockets' 115-111 overtime win against the Sacramento Kings in an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif. [AP]

"It's hard to put a finger on, other than we have a good group of guys that try hard," he said. "I like our group."

Then, everywhere he turned, Van Gundy found reasons, from the off-the-charts competitiveness of Shane Battier to the example set by Dikembe Mutombo and Juwan Howard to Tracy McGrady's selflessness and decision-making and Yao Ming's work ethic.

The Rockets have won nine of 11 games since Yao broke his right leg. They swept a road back-to-back in Denver and Sacramento and handled the Jazz and Lakers, both Western Conference playoff competitors.

The Rockets move to another back-to-back against the top of the NBA, visiting Dallas on Tuesday and hosting the Suns a night later at Toyota Center,

"We try hard," Van Gundy said again, offering praise of the quality he values most. "We've got a good group of guys. We've got McGrady. We've got Howard. We've got Battier. We've got Mutombo.

"Every night you try to put yourself in a position to win. Like (Friday at Denver), down six with three minutes to go, showing the mental strength. Those are the things that make or break your season. I think the team should be proud."

The Rockets have said that last season's incredible run of injuries steeled them for this season's challenge.

Though they have been without three players from their rotation - Yao, Bonzi Wells and Kirk Snyder (who has returned for only occasional minutes since his wrist injury) - during this stretch, a year ago they were without six players from their planned rotation.

"We're more prepared," guard Rafer Alston said. "It helps to have more depth, added firepower. But I think we're more prepared. Last year, it took us by surprise. We were on a team with anticipation and expectations so high. All of a sudden, the injury bug hits you. This year, we know this can happen. I can say we're prepared. We just keep playing.

"All of a sudden, Yao goes down, and we go (9-2). That tells you we're better equipped to handle those situations."

But Van Gundy said it is more than that, citing the examples established before the injuries.

Last season, McGrady went out before the season's second game. This season, he was hurt Dec. 9, and either he or Yao has been out of every game since. But other than the second half against the Clippers on Dec. 23, the night Yao was hurt, the Rockets have not seemed deterred.

"Anybody that is into winning, which I think our players are, will have a keen appreciation of the example set, whether it's Yao coming in early and studying film, whether it's Battier's game-plan concentration," Van Gundy said. "Our guys certainly have a huge appreciation for McGrady's unselfishness.

"Like you hear a lot of talking heads say, the best player has to always take the last shot. What you see him doing is they put two on him, and he puts the ball on target and helps other players excel."

McGrady has mixed his late-game scoring and playmaking so well that Van Gundy put him in an elite class.

"Next to (Phoenix guard Steve) Nash, I think he's the premier decision-maker in the game," Van Gundy said. "I think he's always been that way. I just think people call on different people to do different things depending on what they need for their teams. We need both his scoring and his passing."

That has helped the Rockets win close games they lost without McGrady, as their late rally at Denver and overtime win at Sacramento showed.

The Rockets are 5-3 in games decided by four or fewer points.

"We're playing confident basketball," McGrady said. "If we were in a situation like this last year, I don't think we knew how to close out games. This year, we keep our poise and find some way to get a win."

Put that all together, from the examples set to the poise down the stretch, and Van Gundy said it has led to "chemistry," a catchphrase he usually dismisses as a sports clich¨¦ but that has become too clear to be denied.

"I think every coach views it as very important," he said. "Some people value on-the-court chemistry more. Some people value off-the-court chemistry.

"I think they both have a significant (impact on) winning and also on the ability to enjoy the season. And I think enjoying the year does lead to maximizing your own potential as an individual and as a team. It's very difficult to play well if you don't enjoy the group you're with. That doesn't mean every guy is going to go out. It's just we have a good group of guys.

"I would say those guys dull the pain of NBA coaching as much as you can."

It has even been enough for Van Gundy to go from having no answer to explain the Rockets' run to having answers everywhere he looks.