Houston Rockets Team Report - April 11

(Basketball News) - The playoff-bound Houston Rockets host the Northwest Division-leading Seattle SuperSonics on Monday at the Toyota Center.

Seattle is attempting to win its first division title since 1997-98, when it went 61-21 and won its third consecutive Pacific Division title. The Sonics have already posted 50 wins for just the 10th time in franchise history and first since the 1997-98 campaign.

The Sonics, who are the third seed in the Western Conference, lead the second- place Nuggets by five games in the Northwest Division.

Houston is the sixth seed in the West and owns a slim 1/2 game lead over the seventh-seeded Nuggets. The Rockets trail No. 5 Sacramento by just 1 1/2 games.

This is the third meeting of the season between the clubs. The SuperSonics defeated Houston, 87-85, at the Toyota Center, while the Rockets beat Seattle, 97-95 at KeyArena. The teams will play once more time in the regular season, as the Rockets will host Seattle on April 20th.

Houston plays its final road game of the regular season on Monday. It is an impressive 24-16 as the visitor in the 2004-05 campaign. Last season, the Rockets finished 18-23 on the road.

After Monday’s game, the Rockets return home for four straight games to closeout the regular season. They will host Memphis, Denver, the Clippers and Seattle.

The Rockets have won two in a row and play the finale of a four-game road trip. On Saturday, Tracy McGrady scored 34 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Houston over the Phoenix Suns, 98-97, at America West Arena.

Bob Sura added 13 points and six assists in Saturday’s victory for the Rockets, who clinched a spot in the postseason with the win. Center Yao Ming finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of action against the Suns.

McGrady has scored more than 20 points in seven of his last eight games He is averaging 29.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and five assists in his last eight outings.