Rockets at Grizzlies
Two Western Conference playoff contenders fighting through injuries to star players square off Monday when the Memphis Grizzlies host the Houston Rockets. Memphis is reeling from a 102-86 loss to San Antonio in which it lost center Marc Gasol to a sprained MCL that will keep him out indefinitely. The Rockets have won four of five and are coming off a 112-101 victory over Minnesota despite playing without leading scorer James Harden, who is expected to miss a second straight game.
The double-whammy to the Grizzlies came just as they were turning things around and had put together a four-game winning streak. Houston committed a season-high 25 turnovers with the offense unable to run through Harden, but Aaron Brooks proved he is capable of picking up the scoring slack with a 26-point night. Memphis took three of four meetings last season and has claimed five straight home games in the series.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Houston, SportSouth (Memphis)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (9-5): Houston likes to get up and down the floor and leads the league in scoring at a clip of 109.9 points. All five starters have scored in double digits in four of the past six games, including Saturday's contest without Harden. The blistering pace the Rockets prefer leads them to allow 105.6 points - second-most in the league - but they hold opponents to 41.8 percent shooting, which ranks third.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (7-6): Memphis only has three players averaging double-digit scoring and one is on the shelf with Gasol sidelined. Already a grind-it-out team built around defense, Memphis will have to be even more stingy to survive the loss of one of its few offensive threats. The Grizzlies are fortunate to have another capable center in Kosta Koufos, a starter in Denver last season, but he isn't likely to be as productive as Gasol at either end of the floor.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Houston SF Chandler Parsons has scored 20 or more points in five of his last eight games.
2. The Grizzlies are 26-1 since the start of the 2012-13 campaign when scoring at least 100 points, including a 3-0 mark this season.
3. Grizzlies PF Zach Randolph has recorded six straight double-doubles and has nine for the season.