Rockets at Mavericks
The Houston Rockets are looking to sweep the season series from Dallas for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign when they visit the Mavericks on Tuesday in the fourth meeting of the campaign. Houston also is aiming to keep the Mavericks below 100 points for the sixth consecutive time as well as beat Dallas for the 10th time in the past 13 meetings.
Rockets star point guard James Harden recorded his 24th double-double of the season with 32 points and 12 assists in Monday's 131-115 victory over the Phoenix Suns as Houston won for the 12th time in the last 14 games. The Rockets rolled up 107 points over the first three quarters of the contest and topped 130 points for the fifth time this season. Dallas dropped a 111-104 decision to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday after winning three of its previous four games. Power forward Dirk Nowitzki, who recently returned from an Achilles' tendon injury, scored 10 points in 17 minutes in the first half before spending the second half in the locker room doing cardio work and he is an unlikely participant against the Rockets.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (23-9): Second-year center Montrezl Harrell is seeing lots of playing time with starter Clint Capela (fractured fibula) sidelined and is averaging 15.7 points on 20-of-28 shooting over the past three games. Harrell has started the past two games and may be a fixture until Capela returns as coach Mike D'Antoni is highly impressed with what he has witnessed. "He's playing great — just his energy," D'Antoni said after the win over Phoenix. "His defense is really good, we can switch a lot and we can do different things. He covers up for a lot of people, he takes charges. I think he's been playing terrific."
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (9-22): Dallas still has hopes that it can climb into playoff contention in the Western Conference but urgency is close to hitting home with the halfway point just 10 games away. "Our schedule between November and December has been a beast," Nowitzki told reporters. "We've had the toughest schedule, I'm sure. The good thing is, once you get through the stretch, January is probably the easiest month out of all of them. We have multiple two-day breaks ... so we just have to get through that stretch." Point guard Deron Williams contributed 24 points and nine assists against the Pelicans and is averaging 18.5 points over the past eight contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Mavericks have been held to an average of 92.3 points in this season's three losses to the Rockets.
2. Houston G Patrick Beverley (thigh) departed Monday's win over Phoenix and his availability for Tuesday is uncertain.
3. Dallas C Andrew Bogut (knee) has missed 11 straight games but coach Rick Carlisle said the Australian could return later this week.