Hawks at Rockets
The Houston Rockets didn't need James Harden chasing Wilt Chamberlain to knock off the defending champions on the road Saturday with a 118-112 victory at Golden State. The Rockets could have their MVP back when they return home Monday to host the Atlanta Hawks.
Harden, who scored at least 30 points in each of his last 32 games and is chasing Chamberlain's NBA record of 65 in a row, could not go on Saturday due to a neck injury and watched as his teammates earned a third win this season over the Warriors. "Don't make too much of it. It's a good win," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters. "We played well. They didn't play as well. Especially in the first half, they didn't play very good. They might not have seen Harden and gone, 'Oh.' Sometimes you have a letdown. There's all kinds of reasons, but all we know is we go on to the next one." The rebuilding Hawks struggled to make the most of a seven-game homestand and went 2-5 in their own arena bridging the break, capped by a 120-112 triumph over Phoenix on Saturday. Atlanta is making a brief trip to Houston before returning home for nine of the next 13 as it tries to build some momentum.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (20-40): Atlanta is ticking off marks on the development scale for its young players and got another solid performance from rookie point guard Trae Young on Saturday. The Oklahoma product matched the team high with 23 points and added eight assists while going 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. Second-year power forward John Collins, who showed off his athleticism with a dunking exhibition during the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend, added 19 points and 14 rebounds in his fourth double-double this month.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (34-25): Houston fell at the Los Angeles Lakers coming out of the break on Thursday but got up for Saturday's matchup and is confident it can hang with the champs. "I truly believe that we're their toughest opponent," shooting guard Eric Gordon told reporters. "We've got to continue playing, trying to be a championship team. They know who they are. This is another game for them, but this is a special night for us." Gordon scored a team-high 25 points in the win while point guard Chris Paul collected 23 points and 17 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks rookie SG Kevin Huerter (ankle) missed the last two games and is day-to-day.
2. Rockets SG Iman Shumpert (knee) sat out the last two contests and is questionable for Saturday.
3. Atlanta won seven straight in the series before Houston took both meetings last season.