Dallas @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 10, 2019 ) Houston 94, Dallas 93

The Houston Rockets dropped two straight on the road and are returning home to host one of the hottest teams in the league in the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. The Rockets and Mavericks are battling to be the top scoring team in the Western Conference and are tied at an average of 117.9 points.

Houston features a pair of former league MVPs in James Harden and Russell Westbrook but the best player on the floor Sunday might be Dallas point guard Luka Doncic, who led his team to 40-plus routs in each of the last two games. The Mavericks are winners of four in a row and followed a 142-94 pasting of the Golden State Warriors with a 143-101 drubbing of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, polishing off a perfect homestand. Harden and Westbrook could not quite hang with another pair of superstars on Friday and watched Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and company come through down the stretch in a 122-119 setback at the Los Angeles Clippers. The Rockets will play the next three and five of the next seven at home, where they own a 6-1 record.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (10-5): Doncic turned in a 42-point triple-double in a win over San Antonio on Monday and needed just 26 minutes to post a 35-point triple-double against the Warriors before putting up 30 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in Friday's triumph. "He's a guy who has a great feel for the game," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters of Doncic. "He has the tools to counter what defenses throw at him. He's seen everything this year. Toronto came in here and threw two zones, a box-and-one, big defenders, small defenders, trapping in open-court situations. He plays the game the right way and he moves it to the right people." Doncic, 20, is averaging 29.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 9.7 assists in his sophomore campaign after winning Rookie of the Year honors last season.

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (11-5): Harden leads the NBA in scoring at an average of 38.3 points and is shooting 54.9 percent from the floor over the last three contests despite seeing a variety of different defenses designed to get the ball out of his hands. Harden went 9-of-16 from the floor on Friday and finished with 37 points but made the Clippers pay for double teaming him by handing out 12 assists. Westbrook is averaging 21.9 points but is not quite as sharp from the floor while going 10-for-51 from 3-point range over his last seven games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Mavericks SG Seth Curry (illness) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.

2. Rockets C Clint Capela is averaging 20 rebounds over the last six games.

3. The teams split four meetings last season, with Dallas earning one win in Houston.

PREDICTION: Mavericks 129, Rockets 124