James Harden and the Houston Rockets will face the Oklahoma City Thunders on Tuesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Rockets will try to improve their standings to win a ticket for the playoffs. The Thunders, on other hand, sit comfortably in third place of the Western Conference.
Here's everything you need to know about the Tuesday's encounter:
Date: Tuesday, March 22
Start time: 8:00 PM ET
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: TNT, Sportsnet One
Radio: 790 AM,WWLS 98.1FM OKC
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
The Rockets are tied with the Dallas Mavericks for seventh place in the Western Conference. The team is also a half-game behind the sixth-place Portland Trail Blazers. With 12 games remaining for the rest of regular season, Houston don't have much room for error. If they win against the Thunders on Tuesday, they can move up to the standings.
However, James Harden is questionable to face his former team. In a game against Atlanta on Saturday, the All-Star guard twisted his ankle when he stepped on a teammate's foot. The Rocket lost in that game with a final score of 109-97 in favor of Atlanta.
Fox Sports reported Harden, who averages 28.6 points per game, was not able to attend the team's practice on Monday and is considered day-to-day. It is interesting to note that the Rockets guard only missed one game over the past two seasons. He did not able to play because of a suspension last March.
For the Oklahoma City Thunders, it is expected that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will make an appearance on Tuesday. The team has already secured its playoff spot and is ranked no. 3 in the Western Conference.
Durant is third in the league in terms of point production per game. He averages 28.0 points per game this season. Moreover, in his last 13 games, he is averaging 29.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists.
Furthermore, their premiere guard Russell Westbrook has recorded his 14th triple-double of the season Saturday against Indiana Pacers. CBS Sports says no one has done that since Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson in 1988-89.
It is also worth mentioning that the Thunders won against the Rockers in their Jan. 29 game. The game ended with a final score of 116-108. Statistics show the Thunder held Houston to just 37.9 percent shooting that night. On the offensive end, the Thunder made 47.7 percent of their shots.
