Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET, the Toronto Raptors (3-4) and Houston Rockets (4-3) tipoff live from the Toyota Center in Houston. The game can be live streamed here. Toronto fans can hear all the action on Sportsnet 590 The Fan while Houston fans can do the same on KBME SportsTalk 790.
The Rockets entered the season feeling good about the offseason acquisition of Dwight Howard, however after rattling off three straight wins to start the season, the defense has begun to sputter. Since its 3-0 start, Houston has lost three of four while allowing an average of 111.0 points per game against its opponents in those four games.
"We haven't really hit a stride as a team. We're struggling. We struggle on and off but we'll win some games," coach Kevin McHale said via ESPN. "We just seem out of sync a lot when we're playing and you can feel it. It feels like it's a grind. There are times when it's running smooth and we're moving. It feels good. Right now, we're just not in a good groove where we're playing well"
Houston lost to the Los Angeles Clippers twice in five days, with its latest defeat to them coming at home in a 107-94 loss Saturday, just five days after getting blown out by the Clippers in Los Angeles 137-118. Howard had 21 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's loss, but shot just 5-for-11 from the free-throw line.
James Harden scored a season-low 12 points in the loss and was 4-for-15 from the field while playing with a bruised left foot. He averaged 28.6 points through his first six games.
The Rockets still have a reason to enter with confidence as the team has won their last six meetings with the Raptors and is 15-3 all-time against Toronto in Houston.
Toronto is 1-3 on the road so far this year, its first road win coming over the winless Utah Jazz on Saturday to snap a three-game road slide. Tyler Hansbrough scored a season-high 23 points in the victory.
"I thought Hansbrough was a handful," coach Dwane Casey said per ESPN after the game. "That's the kind of intensity it takes to be a winning program. What he's doing is contagious."
Kyle Lowry didn't return after spraining his ankle on the last play of the first half and is considered day-to-day with the injury.
Houston will look to continue its dominance over Toronto at home while the Raptors will look to change the trends when these teams take the court tonight in Houston.
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