Nuggets at Rockets
The Houston Rockets have clinched a postseason berth heading into Sunday's game against the visiting Nuggets and now they’ll aim to get healthy and hold on to home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The Rockets played without starters Dwight Howard (ankle) and Patrick Beverley (knee) again Friday night and still beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-107. Beverley likely won’t return until the postseason, while Howard is closing in on the window he set for his return.
The wait-until-next-year attitude appears to have taken hold in Denver, where the Nuggets have lost five of six, the latest a 100-92 defeat Friday night at the Memphis Grizzlies in which leading scorer Ty Lawson (17.6) didn’t start due to disciplinary issues and then left with a sprained left ankle. Then there’s Wilson Chandler, the team’s second-leading scorer who has missed the last six games with a groin injury and shows no sign he’s ready to return. One player who's still giving his all is power forward Kenneth Faried, who has established career-high point totals twice in the last month.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), CSN Houston
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (33-43): With the growing possibility that Denver will be without its top two scorers against the Rockets, look for another heavy dose of Faried on the inside and Randy Foye on the perimeter. Foye has hit the 20-point mark twice in the last four games and he’d probably like to show management that they don’t need to shop for a big-name shooting guard in the offseason. Foye had one of his worst games when these teams met the only other time this season back in mid-November, shooting 2-for-12 and scoring eight points as he found himself locked up by James Harden.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (50-25): No Beverley and no Howard is like old times for Harden, who continues to find ways to pick apart opposing defenses, no matter who's around him. His latest effort against the Thunder was MVP-quality - 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists - and his 20 trips to the free throw line seemed to wear down the will of Oklahoma City. Foye is a savvy veteran defender but the Nuggets might be wise to counter Harden with the length of 6-9 small forward Quincy Miller.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets have won 50 games for the 10th time in franchise history and first since the 2008-09 season.
2. Nuggets G Aaron Brooks started for Lawson on Friday and will likely get the nod again on Sunday.
3. After not meeting for nearly four months, these teams will play again Wednesday in Denver.