Im Still Ballin
03-25-2015, 05:46 PM
Dwight returns.
James Harden and the Houston Rockets are in great position with the playoffs fast approaching, and they're about to get even stronger with Dwight Howard set to return.
The injury-plagued New Orleans Pelicans need to quickly turn things around if they hope to make the postseason.
Houston tries to hand the Pelicans a season worst-tying fourth consecutive loss as these Southwest Division foes meet Wednesday night in New Orleans.
The Rockets (47-23) are in third place in the highly competitive Western Conference with three weeks remaining, while the 10th-place Pelicans (37-33) are a few games behind Oklahoma City for eighth.
"We've got to hit a major winning streak here towards the end, because (the Thunder are) not going to bow down to anybody," said Pelicans guard Eric Gordon, whose team dropped four straight Feb. 7-20. "We have to control our destiny and be consistent, as far as winning games."
New Orleans returns home looking to regroup after closing a three-game trip with Sunday's 107-100 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers. Anthony Davis (ankle) returned from a two-game absence to post 26 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Pelicans were outscored 21-8 in transition and 46-28 in the paint.
Omer Asik missed his second consecutive game with a calf injury, and Tyreke Evans sat out with a sprained ankle. The Pelicans also continue to play without Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday.
"We have been dealing with a lot of injuries," Davis said. "It's tough, not having Tyreke, Jrue, Ryan, and Omer, who are all important pieces on this team. But this is the NBA. We have to deal with the adversity and still try to find a way to win."
The Rockets are set to welcome back an important piece in Howard, who's missed the last two months with a knee injury. Howard is averaging 16.3 points for his lowest mark in nine seasons, but he's pulling down a team-best 11.0 rebounds per game.
Howard's return could take some of the load off Harden, who scored a career-high 50 points against Denver on Thursday before pouring in 44 in Monday's 110-100 victory at Indiana. The MVP candidate shot 21 of 22 from the foul line in leading the Rockets to a fourth win in five games.
"He was just solid. He's a hell of a player," coach Kevin McHale said. "We don't have our record if James isn't playing at an MVP level, which he's doing. I say it every year, two or three guys play at extraordinary levels, and he's one of them right now."
Harden is second in the league with 27.2 points per game, and Houston is 29-5 when he scores at least 27.
"It's just a matter of me being crafty, getting there, making plays and just doing what I do every single night," said Harden, who has eight 40-point performances. "As long as I'm aggressive and in attack mode, good things are going to happen."
Houston is trying to avoid a fourth consecutive loss to the Pelicans after dropping this season's first two meetings, 99-90 on Dec. 18 and 111-83 on the road Jan. 2. Harden has been limited to a combined 32 points on 36.1 percent shooting in those defeats.
Davis is averaging 28.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.4 blocks in his last eight games. He racked up 30, 14 and five against Houston in December before being limited to seven points on 2-of-7 shooting and eight boards in the January meeting.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=400579360
James Harden and the Houston Rockets are in great position with the playoffs fast approaching, and they're about to get even stronger with Dwight Howard set to return.
The injury-plagued New Orleans Pelicans need to quickly turn things around if they hope to make the postseason.
Houston tries to hand the Pelicans a season worst-tying fourth consecutive loss as these Southwest Division foes meet Wednesday night in New Orleans.
The Rockets (47-23) are in third place in the highly competitive Western Conference with three weeks remaining, while the 10th-place Pelicans (37-33) are a few games behind Oklahoma City for eighth.
"We've got to hit a major winning streak here towards the end, because (the Thunder are) not going to bow down to anybody," said Pelicans guard Eric Gordon, whose team dropped four straight Feb. 7-20. "We have to control our destiny and be consistent, as far as winning games."
New Orleans returns home looking to regroup after closing a three-game trip with Sunday's 107-100 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers. Anthony Davis (ankle) returned from a two-game absence to post 26 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Pelicans were outscored 21-8 in transition and 46-28 in the paint.
Omer Asik missed his second consecutive game with a calf injury, and Tyreke Evans sat out with a sprained ankle. The Pelicans also continue to play without Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday.
"We have been dealing with a lot of injuries," Davis said. "It's tough, not having Tyreke, Jrue, Ryan, and Omer, who are all important pieces on this team. But this is the NBA. We have to deal with the adversity and still try to find a way to win."
The Rockets are set to welcome back an important piece in Howard, who's missed the last two months with a knee injury. Howard is averaging 16.3 points for his lowest mark in nine seasons, but he's pulling down a team-best 11.0 rebounds per game.
Howard's return could take some of the load off Harden, who scored a career-high 50 points against Denver on Thursday before pouring in 44 in Monday's 110-100 victory at Indiana. The MVP candidate shot 21 of 22 from the foul line in leading the Rockets to a fourth win in five games.
"He was just solid. He's a hell of a player," coach Kevin McHale said. "We don't have our record if James isn't playing at an MVP level, which he's doing. I say it every year, two or three guys play at extraordinary levels, and he's one of them right now."
Harden is second in the league with 27.2 points per game, and Houston is 29-5 when he scores at least 27.
"It's just a matter of me being crafty, getting there, making plays and just doing what I do every single night," said Harden, who has eight 40-point performances. "As long as I'm aggressive and in attack mode, good things are going to happen."
Houston is trying to avoid a fourth consecutive loss to the Pelicans after dropping this season's first two meetings, 99-90 on Dec. 18 and 111-83 on the road Jan. 2. Harden has been limited to a combined 32 points on 36.1 percent shooting in those defeats.
Davis is averaging 28.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.4 blocks in his last eight games. He racked up 30, 14 and five against Houston in December before being limited to seven points on 2-of-7 shooting and eight boards in the January meeting.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=400579360