With starting point guard Fred VanVleet (personal reasons) sidelined and playing on night two of a road back-to-back, the Houston Rockets had a five-game winning streak snapped in Thursday's 132-127 loss (box score) at Sacramento's Golden 1 Center.

After the Houston Rockets 125-103 win over the Portland Trailblazers the Rockets moved their record to 28-13 at the mid-way mark of the regular season. They are

Portland will try to end its four-game slide when the Portland Trail Blazers take on Houston. The teams meet Saturday for the first time this season.

The Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies will battle for sole claim of the Western Conference second seed. Both teams are on the verge of becoming true contenders in the West.

Ja Morant might return from injury, and Rockets center Steven Adams will play in Memphis for the first time since the Grizzlies traded him last February.

The Thunder has a 99.8% chance of being the No. 1 seed in the West, according to basketball-reference.com. Seems low.

After starting this season in a shooting slump, veteran Rockets guard Fred VanVleet has made nearly 40% of his 3-pointers over the last nine games.

In the rubber match of a three-game road trip, Houston visits Portland on Saturday. Led by Anfernee Simons, the Blazers won at Houston in November.

Now halfway through the 2024-2025 NBA season, the Houston Rockets are in great position, sitting as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 27-13 record

Fred VanVleet has a hot hand right now, and the Kings have struggled to contain opposing guards this season. Our NBA betting picks expect VanVleet to light up the scoreboard in Sacramento tonight.

The Houston Rockets take on the Detroit Pistons in non-conference play. Monday's matchup is the first of the season between the two teams.

Kelly Iko talks to John Hollinger about what makes sense for the Rockets to do at the trade deadline — if anything.