The Houston Rockets were left for dead earlier last week when the team went down 3-0 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but now Kevin Durant and company have all the pressure on them as the series shifts back to Texas for Game 6.

The Rockets have won the past two games despite not having Jeremy Lin in the lineup or a healthy James Harden, who has been dealing with strep throat and had fly-like symptoms prior to Game 5. Lin is expected to return on Friday night and Harden is going to start despite not feeling well as the Rockets try to extend the series one more game.

Kevin Durant has been excellent throughout the series and Oklahoma City will need him more than ever on Friday night, as Russell Westbrook will be out the rest of the playoffs following a knee injury in Game 2 after colliding with rookie Patrick Beverley. The Thunder are trying to avoid becoming the first team ever to give up a 3-0 series lead and despite not having Westbrook, the team won Game 3.

Durant has been swarmed by defenders since Westbrook went down and players like Kevin Martin and Thabo Sefolosha will need to step up. The Rockets have gotten solid production out of Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik, who was excellent at the end of Game 5 while hitting eight of 12 free throws to help seal the victory. Patrick Beverley and Francisco Garcia have been picking up the slack for the Rockets since Lin has been out and the starting point guard will likely come off of the bench in Game 6.

Harden has been the primary scorer for the Rockets in the playoffs after starting off slow in Game 1 when he scored 20 points and since then he has scored at least 30 points in three of four games. Harden had 31 points in the Game 5 victory and added 30 in the Game 3 loss before scoring just 15 in the 105-103 win in Game 4. His best game of the series came in Game 2 with 36 points and 11 rebounds and the team will need a similar performance on Friday night. Lin has not been much of a factor in the series after playing just 18 minutes in Game 3 and he missed the second half of Game 2 with his injury to the chest.

Durant has been the primary star for the Thunder especially since Westbrook went down and he has had at least 29 point in four of the five games, including a career high 41 in Game 3 in which he also nabbed 14 rebounds. He had 36 and 38 points in the past two losses and OKC will need him to deliver again on Friday.

Prediction: Rockets push it to seven.