Rockets at Thunder
THE STORY: The Houston Rockets are in a major swoon, but there's no chance they will get overlooked when they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Losers of six of their last seven, the Rockets eked out a one-point home win over the Thunder last month. Not to mention Oklahoma City absorbed a stunning defeat by Cleveland on Friday, a loss that snapped its 14-game home winning streak. The Thunder had won four straight against Houston before last month's loss.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Houston (Rockets), FS Oklahoma City (Thunder)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (22-20): Houston will be without starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who will be sidelined for 2-to-4 weeks with a bacterial infection. He missed the past two games after being hospitalized for a fever and abdominal distress. The one saving grace has been the play of backup Goran Dragic, who has 43 points and 16 assists in the past two games. Coincidentally, Dragic's only two other starts this season came in a back-to-back against Oklahoma City, when he totaled 30 points and 19 assists in two narrow defeats.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (32-9): Oklahoma City bounced back from its loss to Cleveland with a vengeance by pounding league-worst Charlotte 122-95. Sixth man extraordinaire James Harden led the way with a season-high 33 points. It was the second 30-point outing in three games for Harden, who is shooting a blistering 63.2 percent (24 of 38) during that stretch, including 10 of 21 from behind the arc. The Thunder had 13 steals against the Bobcats, helping to boost their league-leading total to 8.0 per game.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Thunder forward Kevin Durant, the league's second-league scorer, is struggling from long distance, making 8 of 32 3-point attempts in his last five games.
2. The Thunder are tied with Miami and the Los Angeles Lakers for the league's best home record at 19-2.
3. Oklahoma City leads the league in free-throw shooting percentage (79.5). Houston is tied for third (78.8).