Rockets, Wizards meet at Toyota Center

Washington has won two straight games and is 3-1 on the current swing. The Wizards are the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race and lead No. 6 Milwaukee by 1 1/2 games.

On Tuesday, Caron Butler scored 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Wizards knocked off the Sacramento Kings, 97-84, at ARCO Arena.

Antonio Daniels and Antawn Jamison both scored 17 points, while Billy Thomas netted 14 off the bench and Etan Thomas contributed 12 points and eight rebounds in the win over Sacramento for the Wizards, who won despite the absence of All-Star Gilbert Arenas, who missed the contest with the flu.

Arenas leads the Wizards in scoring (29.1 ppg) and assists (5.9 apg). He is questionable for tonight’s game.

The Wizards, who will visit the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday at the AT&T Center, are just 13-20 on the road this season.

Houston plays the finale of a three-game homestand. On Wednesday, Yao Ming finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Rockets crushed the Seattle SuperSonics, 115-87, at the Toyota Center.

Stromile Swift and Richie Frahm both came off the bench to score 16 points apiece in the win over Seattle for the Rockets, who have won two of their last three contests. Rookie Luther Head netted 14, while Juwan Howard scored 13 in the victory.

The Rockets are just 14-23 at the Toyota Center this season. After tonight’s game, Houston embarks on a six-game road trip that includes stops at the Lakers, Seattle, Portland, Golden State, Sacramento and Utah.

This is the second and final meeting of the campaign between the teams. On January 3rd, Tracy McGrady, who is currently sidelined indefinitely with back spasms, ended with 38 points to pace the Rockets to a 123-111 victory over the Wizards at Washington.

Washington has lost three straight and 10 of its last 11 at Houston.