Rockets at Raptors
The Houston Rockets have won four in a row and seven of eight and seem to be gelling at the right time heading into their game Monday at the Toronto Raptors. Houston’s victory Sunday against the Washington Wizards helped the Rockets move into second place as the Memphis Grizzlies later lost to the San Antonio Spurs. The Raptors are in fourth place in the East, 1 1/2 games behind the third-place Chicago Bulls and 2 1/2 ahead of the fifth-place Wizards.
The Raptors will likely be without starting point guard and second-leading scorer Kyle Lowry, who has missed four of the last five games with a sore back. Houston center Dwight Howard will also reportedly sit this one out — the second game of a back-to-back situation — as he’s just three games into his return from two-month absence due to a knee injury. Howard also missed the last meeting against the Raptors, a 98-76 win in Houston on Feb. 21.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, ROOT (Houston), TSN2 (Toronto)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (50-23): Corey Brewer had 26 points, 10 rebounds and five steals off the bench in the last game against the Raptors, helping force 23 turnovers by Toronto. He hasn’t had a game like that since and the Rockets could use a big-time performance from their bench if Howard sits this one out. Houston leading scorer James Harden has seen his shooting percentage drop in each of the last three months, including March, where he was 40.9 percent from the floor before converting 7-of-20 against the Wizards, the 20th straight game he has failed to make at least half his shots.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (43-30): DeMar DeRozan grew up playing against Harden in Southern California and they went head-to-head for two years in the Pac-10 Conference before Harden was taken third overall in the 2009 NBA Draft and DeRozan went ninth. DeRozan leads the Raptors in scoring at 19.1 points, but matched his season low with six in Friday’s win against the Los Angeles Lakers, which clinched the Atlantic Division title for Toronto. DeRozan is shooting 13-for-46 from the floor in the last three games, dropping his season mark to 39.8, which would represent the lowest of his career.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Raptors have won seven straight at home against the Rockets.
2. The Rockets will be trying to finish 11-5 in March, their best record for any month this season.
3. Houston is 9-0 this season with Jason Terry in the starting lineup.