Los Angeles @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2019 ) Houston 109, L.A. Clippers 96

Kawhi Leonard got through a meeting with his former team the way he usually does - quietly, and with a victory. Leonard will try to lead his new team to another triumph when the Los Angeles Clippers visit the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to an NBA championship in his lone season with the team last spring and saw them for the first time since leaving in free agency over the summer when the Clippers eased to a 98-88 victory on Monday. "Like I said before, I had a great time there but it's the next chapter now," Leonard told reporters after flirting with a triple-double against the Raptors. "I can't live in the past or just be so excited that I still won. I'm with a different team, a different unit. They want to have that same feeling and I do, as well." The Rockets believe they are championship contenders and are winners of four in a row as star James Harden embarks on another historic scoring binge. Harden's average of 37.3 points through the first 10 games is the highest the league has seen through a 10-game start since the NBA-ABA merger, besting Michael Jordan's 36.9 points in 1988-89 and 1986-87.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, FS Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (7-3): Leonard struggled to 2-of-11 from the floor on Monday but finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals as Los Angeles turned it up on the defensive end. "What'd they have, 10 points in the fourth quarter?" Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers asked after watching his team outscore Toronto 25-10 over the final 12 minutes. "This was one of those defensive wins." The Clippers are comfortable earning wins on the defensive end and held opponents to 101 points or fewer in each of their last five victories.

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (7-3): Harden scored 39 points in Monday's 122-116 victory at New Orleans - the fourth straight game in which he scored at least 35 points. "I just go out there and play basketball," Harden told reporters. "Try to be assertive as I can. We're really pissed about losing those three games - that's what we're thinking about (with the first 10 games). I think defensively we're getting better. We've been really good these last few games. And that's our mindset, just continue to get better." Houston will be without guard Eric Gordon, who will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery Wednesday and will be sidelined for about six weeks.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Rockets C Clint Capela collected 16 points and 20 rebounds on Monday for his fourth straight double-double.

2. Clippers SG Landry Shamet (ankle) left Monday's contest and is questionable for Wednesday.

3. Los Angeles took two of the three meetings last season, including a 133-113 victory at Houston.

PREDICTION: Clippers 110, Rockets 104