Tip-off: Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Oklahoma City -8.0

The Thunder will be going for a third straight win when they host James Harden and the Rockets on Friday.

The Rockets had won-and-covered in three straight games before losing 130-99 as 9.5-point road underdogs against the Spurs on Wednesday. Houston was downright awful in that game, shooting 38.4% from the field and allowing San Antonio to shoot 55.6%. The Rockets will need to play a much better game against a Thunder team that is playing very well at the moment. Oklahoma City comes into this one after having won two straight games and nine of its past 10. The team is on fire offensively, averaging 114.7 PPG over the past six contests. These teams last met in Houston on Nov. 2 and the Rockets won that game 110-105 as 4.5-point home underdogs. Houston is 5-3 SU in this head-to-head series over the past three seasons, but the teams have split victories ATS. They have also split victories in Oklahoma City in that span, but the Thunder are 3-1 ATS in those games. One thing favoring the Rockets coming into this one is the fact that the Thunder are just 10-22 ATS after playing three consecutive games as a favorite this season. Houston, however, is just 3-11 ATS after allowing 55 points or more in the first half of two straight games this season. PG Cameron Payne (Concussion) is expected to miss this game for the Thunder.

The Rockets were embarrassed in San Antonio on Wednesday and will now be looking to quickly turn things around with a win over the Thunder on Friday. SG James Harden (27.5 PPG, 6.9 APG, 6.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG) will be looking forward to this one, as Oklahoma City is the team that traded him away back in 2012. Harden lit it up against the Thunder earlier in the season, finishing the game with 37 points, five boards, three steals and two blocks. If he can give the same type of all around effort then the Rockets just may steal this one on the road. C Dwight Howard (14.4 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 1.6 BPG) will also have to bring it for the Rockets in this one. Oklahoma City does not have a match for Howard’s blend of size and athleticism, so the big man will need to be aggressive offensively and be prepared to protect the rim on the defensive end. The x-factor for Houston in this game will be SF Trevor Ariza (12.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 SPG). Ariza has been huge offensively for the Rockets lately, averaging 18.0 PPG on 51.7% shooting from the field and 57.9% shooting from three over the past five games. He is knocking down his open looks, but he will really be needed defensively in this game. Ariza will spend a lot of time guarding Kevin Durant and must do his best to contain him.

The Thunder have truly put it together after an uninspiring start to the season and that is because both PG Russell Westbrook (24.1 PPG, 9.8 APG, 7.3 RPG, 2.4 SPG) and SF Kevin Durant (27.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.2 BPG, 1.0 SPG) are playing at an extremely high level. Over the past five games, Westbrook is averaging 22.6 PPG, 10.8 APG, 8.6 RPG and 2.2 SPG for the Thunder. He had 25 assists in Wednesday’s victory over the Timberwolves and has made more of an effort than ever to get his teammates involved this season. He should be able to dominate whoever guards him in this meeting with the Rockets. With Westbrook focused more on setting up his teammates, Durant has been doing a bulk of the scoring. He’s averaging 30.6 PPG over the past five games and will likely be in for another big outing against the Rockets on Friday. He had 29 points the last time he faced them. One guy that Oklahoma City will be hoping can play well in this one is C Enes Kanter (11.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG). Kanter had 23 points, 10 boards and two blocks in the win over Minnesota on Wednesday, but he has been wildly inconsistent this season. The Thunder need the good Kanter to show up on Friday or Dwight Howard will really hurt this team inside.