The Houston Rockets survived a Western Conference win without James Harden and might be forced to again as the scorer suffered a bruised thumb that makes him questionable. That could make things hard for the Rockets as they face the Dallas Mavericks on the road.
Harden is averaging 23.7 points per game so having him out of the lineup certainly is not easy, but the Rockets are 5-2 without him this year. However, one of those losses came to the Dallas Mavericks earlier this season and could again. Head coach Kevin McHale offered no update on the shooter's status for Wednesday's game.
The Spurs were no issue for the Rockets without Harden. Dwight Howard put up 23 points and 16 rebounds while Jeremy Lin added 18 points and eight assists. The two-point-guard system McHale is running with Lin and Patrick Beverley appears to be working hence the no trade for Lin.
While the Rockets are winning, they have been held to under 100 points for three straight games, shooting just 40.4 percent overall. Their 88.3 points per game are 16.5 under their normal season average.
The Mavericks are finishing up their four-game homestand, looking to finish 2-2 before hitting the road again. They defeated the Detroit Pistons on Sunday as Dirk Nowitzki put up 28 points on a sore knee. Monta Ellis struggled in the win, turning the ball over 18 times total in the past three games while being held to just 11 points. Head coach Rick Carlisle is confident Ellis can turn things back around.
Despite the knee issue, Nowitzki is expected to play against Houston. In the last matchup with the Rockets, he put up 35 points while Ellis had 37. The Rockets blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter to lose the game.
