Houston Rockets Team Report - March 14

(Basketball News) - The Houston Rockets go for their fifth straight win on Monday evening, as they visit the Golden State Warriors at The Arena in Oakland. It will be the second meeting of the season between the clubs. On December 17th, the Rockets knocked off the Warriors, 100-83, at the Toyota Center. With the win, Houston snapped a two-game series losing streak. The teams will once more in the 2004-05 campaign, as the Warriors will host the Rockets on April 5th at The Arena in Oakland.

The home team has won five straight contests in this series. The Rockets have won four of six and seven of the last 10 meetings. Houston has lost two straight after winning its last 15 at Golden State.

Houston attempts to finish its current four-game road trip with a perfect 4-0 record. On Sunday, All-Star Tracy McGrady scored 22 points, David Wesley had 21, and the Rockets rolled to a 111-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings at ARCO Arena.

Mike James finished 20 points off the bench in the win over Sacramento, while Yao Ming scored 17 for the Rockets, who have won 13 of their last 17 games overall.

The Rockets, who are 30-15 when they allow under 100 points this season, have allowed under 100 points in 12 of their last 16 games. Houston has beaten four of the top five teams in the Western Conference during its current winning streak, having also knocked off the Dallas Mavericks, Seattle SuperSonics and Phoenix Suns.

Houston is 18-13 on the road this season.

McGrady has scored more than 20 points in eight straight games. He is averaging 28.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists in that span. The All-Star guard leads the Rockets in scoring (25.9 ppg) and assists (6.0 apg).

The Rockets return home for a brief two-game homestand. Houston will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday and the Boston Celtics on Thursday. After playing the Celtics, the Rockets travel to Minnesota to face Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves on Sunday at the Target Center.