Both teams came up with big victories on Tuesday night as they battle for a postseason bid. The Rockets hold a slim lead over Dallas in the West and head home to play five of their remaining seven games after a big comeback win in Cleveland on Tuesday. There is plenty of work to be done by the Bulls, who have lost 11 of 13 on the road.
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SCHEDULING
Chicago’s stay as a sub-.500 team lasted all of 24 hours. The Bulls fell a game below the break-even point with Monday’s home loss to Atlanta, their fourth straight. Going on the road Tuesday for the second of a back-to-back, the Bulls eked out a 98-96 win in Indiana, ending their slide and keeping them in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They finish off a stretch of three games in four nights with Thursday’s showdown in Houston. Even with Tuesday’s win the Bulls can blame some of their struggles on their recent road play. Chicago has lost 11 of its last 13 away from home and is 4-9 ATS in that stretch.
Maybe the Rockets want one of those final playoff spots in the Western Conference after all. Just when it looked like Houston was packing it in, they go and do something totally off the wall that makes us think there’s still some fight in these guys. Having lost four of five and fading from the postseason picture, the Rockets stormed from 20 points back to defeat the LeBron-less Cavaliers on Tuesday night, moving a half-game ahead of the Mavericks for the final spot. Houston gets five of its last seven games at home starting Thursday, with a clash in Dallas coming up next week.
INJURIES
Taj Gibson’s ailing ribs finally pushed enough for him to miss the second half of Tuesday’s game. Also, Derrick Rose seemed to be bothered by his left elbow, wearing a sleeve at the start of the game then being hit on it early in the first quarter. Rose finished the game with just eight points. Both players are day-to-day.
Rockets forward Terrence Jones hasn’t played in a month as he continues to battle a respiratory illness with no timetable on a return.
KEY MATCHUP
The NBA playoffs begin in less than three weeks and the Rockets are not assured a place. There’s work to do and Houston is relying on James Harden to get them there. There is no time to rest and interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff isn’t planning on sitting Harden. He can recover between games, the coach said. While he continues to pile up the minutes, the numbers are following. That might go a long way in explaining his eight steals in a slow-down game against Utah or his triple-double against the Raptors. If there were a need to turn it up, it would be now, with the Rockets forced to finish strong to avoid the lottery. Harden scored 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter leading Houston to a comeback win at Cleveland on Tuesday. Harden has played at least 42 minutes in each of the past three games averaging 31.0 points on 50 percent shooting.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Rockets are going as far as Harden takes them and apparently he wants to go to the postseason. Harden and Co. pulled a rabbit out of the hat on Tuesday, coming back from 20 points down in the second half to knock off the Cavs in Cleveland, and maintaining a slim half-game lead over Dallas for the eighth spot in the West. Just when it looked like the Bulls were going to throw in the towel, they get saved by Jimmy Butler and knock off Indy, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive. But Chicago has more to worry about than chasing the Pacers and Pistons, that crazy injury bug reared its head again. Gibson and Rose came up lame on Tuesday, and without them, it will be the end for the Bulls.
Houston 108, Chicago 101
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