The Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers have lost 20 games each during the regular season and have won 43 and 41 games respectively, which means the Rockets are ahead in the standings table in the Western Conference.
Both the teams are comfortably placed in the third and fourth positing in the standings table and they are almost sure to seal a Playoff berth if they play like they have been doing so far during the season.
The Rockets would be travelling to Portland to face Trail Blazers later tonight.
Rockets have looked good of late as well, where they have won their last two matches on a trot. They defeated Denver Nuggets in their last fixture with the score reading, 114 to 100.
As usual, it was their star player, James Harden who has been hugely impressive this year, who scored 28 points against Nuggets as well. Corey Brewer had 24 points during the night.
The team would be once again looking up to James Harden to do the bulk of the scoring. He has been in great form scoring 27.1 points per game with Trevor Ariza who is the second best for Rockets with only 12.7 points.
This just goes to show the importance of Harden's points for the Rockets. The Trail Blazers have been unsuccessful in stopping Harden in their previous encounters as he finished with more than 40 points on both counts.
But, the Blazers might be missing the services of Wesley Matthews, for he has been one of the best performers with 15.9 points during the season along with 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Talking about the team being without Matthews, Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge said, "I probably talk to him more than anybody, so it's definitely different," as quoted by AP.
"But we've got guys out there that can go compete still."
They would depend on players such as Aldridge, who himself averages 23.2 points, along with other stars such as Arron Afflao with 14 points and Damian Lillard with 21.4 points, who have played an important role for the Trail Blazers this season.
The game between the two is expected to be a close one for Blazers who are playing at home enjoy a good home record with 26 wins and six losses, while Rockets' on the road record is decent enough with 19 wins and 11 losses.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled to start at 10:30pm ET (8am IST and 2:30pm GMT) with live TV coverage in the US on ESPN.
Indian viewers can catch it Live on Sony Six.
Viewers around the world can stream it live on NBA.com.
