NBA Preview from The Sports Network
Thursday, January 5th (All times eastern)
Houston Rockets (11-18) at Cleveland Cavaliers (19-10), 8 p.m.
(Sports Network) - The Cleveland Cavaliers try for their third straight win this evening when they open a three-game homestand against the Houston Rockets at Quicken Loans Arena.
On Wednesday, LeBron James recorded his sixth-career triple-double to lead Cleveland to a 91-84 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center. James scored 32 points with 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Cavs, who won for the eighth time in their last nine games.
Drew Gooden added 18 points and eight rebounds for Cleveland while Donyell Marshall had 17 off the bench.
However, all the news was not good for the Cavs on Wednesday, as it was learned that the team's second-leading scorer, the versatile Larry Hughes, has been diagnosed with a broken right middle finger and is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks.
Cleveland, which will also host Milwaukee and New York on this stand, has won six in a row at home and is 13-3 in its arena this season.
Houston, meanwhile, comes in on the heels of its biggest offensive output of the season. On Tuesday, Tracy McGrady tied a season-high with 38 points to pace the Rockets to a 123-111 victory over the Washington Wizards at the MCI Center.
Juwan Howard added 24 points and seven rebounds, while Rafer Alston contributed 17 points and 10 assists before fouling out for the Rockets, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
Howard, whose playing time has increased with the toe injury to Yao Ming, connected on 10-of-14 shots and Alston went 7-of-11 from the field, as Houston hit 55.1 percent of its attempts.
The Rockets, who will close a three-game road trip in Toronto on Friday, are 8-9 away from home this season.
Houston took both meetings from the Cavs last season and has won four straight and five of the last six matchups. The Rockets have also won two straight and seven of their last 11 in Cleveland.
01/05 16:09:03 ET