Looking to extend their season-best six-game winning streak, the surging Houston Rockets will look to take advantage of the undermanned visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
Primed for a return to the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2020, Houston (43-25) pulled even with the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed after the Rockets’ 117-114 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Spearheading Houston’s season-long success has been the 1-2 punch of Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, who lead the team with scoring averages of 21.3 and 19.2 points, respectively. Green’s 28 points and Sengun’s 24-point, 15-rebound double-double paced the Rockets’ offense in Saturday’s win.
“They are our leading scorers for a reason,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said of the duo. “They have the skillset to take advantage of a lot of defenses. But the balance in general is what we like to see. We got 13 points from Dillon (Brooks) and 12 from Jabari (Smith). A night like this makes it hard to beat — 117 points is plenty for us if we’re guarding the way we’re capable of.”
The Rockets have continuously relied on their defense, as they’re tied for fourth in the league in fewest points per game allowed (108.7), fourth in opponents’ field-goal percentage (45.4 percent) and lead in rebounding differential (six rebounds per game).
A beyond-disappointing season in Philadelphia is at its tail end, with the 76ers on track to miss out on their first postseason since 2017. Philadelphia (23-44) was projected to contend again with the powers of the Eastern Conference, but an injury-plagued campaign has the team five games behind the 10th-seeded Bulls in the play-in tournament race.
The 76ers did pick up a rare road victory on Sunday, pulling away for a 130-125 win in Dallas over the Mavericks. Midseason acquisition Quentin Grimes has been a recent bright spot for Philadelphia, as his 28 points in Sunday’s win increased his scoring mark to 19.9 ppg in 16 games with the Sixers.
Without the likes of the injured Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr., Grimes led a group of players showing their competitive nature, coach Nick Nurse said, in an otherwise hapless season.
“We’re going to try to prepare this group to go out there and have some success,” Nurse said. “They played very well (Sunday), this group of guys. You look at our unit right now, there’s a lot of new guys. All 10 guys that played helped us win.”
In his second game with Philadelphia, former Lakers first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 19 points, while two-way player Jeff Dowtin Jr. and offseason signee Guerschon Yabusele each added 14. Recent 10-day contract addition Oshae Brissett has averaged 13.5 points in two outings with the team.
Following Houston’s 122-115 overtime win over the 76ers on Nov. 27, the Rockets are in search of their first season sweep of Philadelphia since the 2016-17 campaign.
