Rockets at Hawks
The Houston Rockets received little resistance from Atlanta earlier this season and look for their seventh consecutive victory over the host Hawks on Friday. Houston rolled to a 113-84 home victory over the Hawks on Nov. 27, and the lopsided win occurred even though star guard James Harden was sidelined with a foot injury. Harden is now healthy and also on a scoring spree with three consecutive outings of 37 or more points.
Atlanta halted a three-game losing streak with an impressive 97-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. The Hawks have struggled to find a groove since losing standout center Al Horford to a season-ending pectoral injury and the victory improved their mark to 3-4 without him. “We’re still trying to figure things out without Al,” 3-point specialist Kyle Korver said. “It takes time.” The Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 113-99 on Wednesday and the visit to Atlanta is the start of a four-game road trip.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Houston, SportSouth (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (23-13): Harden scored 38 points against the Lakers to continue his strong stretch and become the first Houston player to score 37 or more in three straight games since legendary Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994-95. Harden has made 12 3-pointers during the stretch and has also been an adept driver with his foot woes in check. “Just being aggressive,” Harden said after Wednesday’s victory. “My feet have been feeling better, my three-ball is feeling good. Obviously, I didn’t make a couple that I should have made. I was just staying in attack mode.”
ABOUT THE HAWKS (19-17): Forward Paul Millsap scored a season-worst four points on 1-of-10 shooting against the Pacers and will be looking to bounce back. He had reached double digits in each of his previous 25 games before the poor outing and is currently dealing with a shooting slump. Millsap is just 13-of-54 from the floor in four January games and hasn’t scored more than 16 points in any one contest. With Horford sidelined, Atlanta can’t afford a prolonged slump from the player averaging 17.2 points.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Atlanta last defeated Houston during the middle of the 2009-10 season.
2. Hawks C Pero Antic scored 16 points for the second time in four games in the victory over the Pacers.
3. Rockets C Dwight Howard scored 20 points against the Lakers but was just 10-of-24 from the free-throw line against his former club.