Rockets at Celtics
The Boston Celtics are developing a new superstar in forward Jayson Tatum, and he has his team on a hot streak. Tatum and the Celtics will face another team surging up the standings when they host James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the red-hot Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Boston picked up wins in 14 of its last 17 games to keep the pressure on the Toronto Raptors for the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference and is coming home for the first time since the All-Star break after a 3-1 trip out west that featured Tatum averaging 34.5 points on 56.6 percent shooting. "We're in a good spot," Tatum told reporters after posting 33 points and 11 rebounds in a 114-103 triumph at Utah on Wednesday. "We're just trying to continue to get better every game." The Rockets are winners of five straight and began that streak with a 116-105 home triumph over the Celtics on Feb. 11 that featured a combined 78 points from Harden and Westbrook. Those two former MVPs went for a combined 63 points on 24-of-40 shooting, 16 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals in a 140-112 drubbing of the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: ABC, NBA TV Canada
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (38-20): Houston's switch to full-time small ball has had the most impact on Westbrook, who is averaging 33.2 points on 53.6 percent shooting since Jan. 9 and is up to 47 percent shooting on the season - the best mark of his career. "It makes it even harder to guard him because this small-ball lineup that we have on the floor now is just all shooters, so you have no help," Rockets guard Austin Rivers told ESPN. "It's just one-on-one, and you can't guard him one-on-one. He's too explosive. He's too strong. They try putting bigs on him because of that, and he just has the quickness advantage. There's just really nothing you can do." Westbrook picked up his NBA-high 14th technical foul in the win over Memphis and is two away from a one-game suspension.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (41-17): Boston went through its four-game trip without All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, who is questionable for Saturday with a knee injury, but still felt it could have done better. "We should've beat (the Los Angeles Lakers)," guard Marcus Smart told reporters, referring to a 114-112 loss at the West-best Lakers on Sunday. "We should've won that game. But other than that, as a team, we came in and did what we wanted to do. We focused on each other. We focused on trying to get better. And we did that." Smart averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 assists while starting in Walker's place and recorded multiple steals in each of the last three contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics C Robert Williams III (hip) could play on Saturday for the first time since Dec. 6.
2. Rockets SG Eric Gordon (knee) sat out Wednesday and is day-to-day.
3. Houston owns a four-game winning streak in the series and earned a 115-104 victory in its trip to Boston last season.