Bulls at Rockets
The Houston Rockets look to follow up their best performance of the campaign when they host the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Houston halted a four-game slide with a convincing 136-105 rout of the San Antonio Spurs on Friday and faces a Chicago squad that has dropped a season-worst five straight games.
The Rockets were big disappointments over the first 20 games of the season but were outstanding in contest No. 21 while establishing season bests for points and 3-point baskets (22). "We have to build on this victory," Rockets center Clint Capela said during a postgame television interview. "We just have to stay locked in and remember what we did (Friday) and re-produce it (Saturday) night and we'll be OK." There certainly is a chance for another strong showing against Chicago, which has lost six consecutive road games after Friday's 107-88 setback against the Detroit Pistons. The Bulls are 2-9 on the road as they make their third stop on a four-game excursion.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
ABOUT THE BULLS (5-18): Rookie forward Wendell Carter Jr. was the bright spot against Detroit as he scored a season-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting. It was the second time Carter - the seventh overall pick - topped 20 points, the other being a 25-point effort against the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 31. "Wendell was hot, so I had to get him the ball," Chicago shooting guard Zach LaVine (season-low eight points) told reporters. "He had a career night with all those points and with good defense, but the rest of us didn't play well enough to win."
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (10-11): Point guard Chris Paul (hamstring) returned from a three-absence and contributed 14 points and 10 assists in the dismantling of the Spurs. "When I'm out, we're a different team," Paul told reporters afterward. "When James (Harden) is out, Eric (Gordon) is out, any of us are out, we're a different team. I think we get a chance to alleviate a little bit of pressure on each other, and we played the right way." Harden recorded 23 points and 10 assists while the red-hot Gordon made seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points, and is averaging 26.8 points and connected on 23-of-48 3-point attempts over the past four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets have won the past five meetings, including 96-88 on the road Nov. 3.
2. Houston backup C-PF Nene (calf) is slated to make his season debut Saturday.
3. Chicago PF Lauri Markkanen (elbow) took part in Friday's mid-day shootaround and is expected to make his season debut sometime next week.