HOUSTON — Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest will sit out the next two games with a sprained right ankle.

Tracy McGrady practiced today and may return ahead of schedule from a knee injury.

Artest, Houston's second-leading scorer, sat out Monday's loss in Memphis, the first game he'd missed this season. He had an MRI on Tuesday that revealed damaged ligaments in the ankle, an old injury that Artest re-aggravated in a game last month.

The Rockets play at Golden State on Friday and visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

McGrady has missed Houston's last seven games with soreness in his left knee, the lingering effect of offseason surgery.