Cleveland Cavaliers (17-15, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (18-10, sixth in the Western Conference)
Houston; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Houston will try to keep its three-game home win streak alive when the Rockets face Cleveland.
The Rockets have gone 8-2 at home. Houston has a 1-4 record in one-possession games.
The Cavaliers are 6-7 on the road. Cleveland is second in the Eastern Conference scoring 120.2 points per game and is shooting 46.5%.
The Rockets make 48.9% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.1 percentage points higher than the Cavaliers have allowed to their opponents (46.8%). The Cavaliers score 8.1 more points per game (120.2) than the Rockets allow (112.1).
The teams meet for the second time this season. The Rockets won 114-104 in the last meeting on Nov. 20. Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 28 points, and De’Andre Hunter led the Cavaliers with 25 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Sengun is scoring 22.7 points per game with 9.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists for the Rockets. Amen Thompson is averaging 26.0 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 63.2% over the last 10 games.
Donovan Mitchell is averaging 30.7 points and 5.4 assists for the Cavaliers. Darius Garland is averaging 20.0 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rockets: 5-5, averaging 118.1 points, 47.8 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 7.9 steals and 6.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.9 points per game.
Cavaliers: 4-6, averaging 121.5 points, 45.8 rebounds, 28.8 assists, 8.7 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.2 points.
INJURIES: Rockets: Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl).
Cavaliers: Max Strus: out (foot), Larry Nance Jr.: out (calf).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
