Cavaliers at Rockets
The Houston Rockets are 3-1 on a seven-game homestand and finishing it strong will strengthen their hold on a Western Conference playoff spot. Houston sits seventh in the West, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and three games over the Utah Jazz heading into Friday’s contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland is looking for a bounce-back performance after watching a 27-point lead over the Miami Heat evaporate Wednesday en route to a 98-95 loss.
The Cavaliers have lost four straight games and eight of 10 after the collapse against Miami. The comeback was the largest an opponent has overcome in Cleveland franchise history. “They don’t panic,” Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said afterward. “You get them down 26, 27 points and they know they’ve got plenty of time and they’re going to make a run, and that’s what they did.” The Rockets won the first meeting 112-104 in Cleveland behind 29 points from James Harden. Houston is 23-10 at home and Cleveland is 9-25 on the road.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Ohio (Cleveland), Comcast SportsNet Houston
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (22-46): Second-year forward Tristan Thompson continues to be a bright spot and had 18 points and eight rebounds against Miami. Thompson has 20 double-doubles over his last 42 games and 25 overall. His development has been a plus in a season in which the Cavaliers lost rebounding dynamo Anderson Varejao to a knee injury. Cleveland recently lost standout guard Kyrie Irving to a shoulder injury and rookie shooting guard Dion Waiters is also ailing. Waiters has loose cartilage in his left knee and will miss his second straight game.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (37-31): Point guard Jeremy Lin has been on a scoring spree of late by averaging 23 points over the last three games and topping 20 points in each outing. Lin is shooting 59.1 percent from the field during the stretch, far better than his season mark of 44.7. Lin has meshed well with Harden in the backcourt. Harden is averaging 29 points over the last three contests and has scored 20 or more points in 23 of his last 25 games. Harden’s 26.3 average is fifth best in the NBA.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cleveland has lost in each of its last five visits to Houston.
2. Rockets C Omer Asik has been in double digits in rebounds in 12 of the past 13 games.
3. Cavaliers rookie C Tyler Zeller has two double-doubles over the last four games.