The Houston Rockets (15-7) and Oklahoma City Thunder (14-8) clash at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Dec. 9, Friday in a 2016-2017 NBA season encounter.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:00 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Houston has won nine of their last 11 games to climb up to fourth in the Western Conference after starting the season 6-5. They are four-and-a-half games behind West leaders Golden State Warriors.
The Rockets pulverized the Los Angeles Lakers, 134-95, in their most recent game on Wednesday held at the Toyota Center for the team's fourth straight victory, as per Reuters.
James Harden scored 25 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished off eight assists, and had four steals to lead head coach Mike D'Antoni's squad.
The other four starters all scored in double figures, namely Ryan Anderson, Clint Capela, Trevor Ariza, and Patrick Beverley, who had 12, 12, 11, and 10 points respectively. Beverley had 12 assists while Capela had nine boards.
Off the bench, Eric Gordon netted a game-high 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting while sophomore Sam Dekker had 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Meanwhile, the Thunder are on a six-game winning run after previously losing three straight games. OKC is currently in the sixth spot in the West standings, just a game behind the Rockets.
The Thunder is coming off a close 102-99 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night at the Phillips Arena, ABC News reported.
Russell Westbrook pulled off his sixth consecutive triple-double performance with 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. It was his 11th triple-double in 22 games so far this season, which made him average a triple-double as well with 31.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 11.3 assists per game.
Victor Oladipo backed him up with 14 points, six boards, and two assists while Steven Adams had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Off the bench, Anthony Morrow and Enes Kanter fired 15 and 10 points respectively.
Prediction
The Rockets are 9-5 on away games this season while the Thunder is 9-4 at home so far. Both teams are on a roll right now, but OKC is predicted to win a close match with Westbrook again proving to be the difference-maker.
