Los Angeles @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 20, 2017 ) L.A. Lakers 122, Houston 116

Not even the return of Chris Paul could knock the Houston Rockets out of their funk as the losing streak reached five straight with a 121-103 setback at Washington on Friday. The Rockets will try to solve things at home when they make a brief stop to host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Houston won 14 straight games to move to the top of the Western Conference but fell at home to the Lakers 122-116 on Dec. 20 to end the streak in a game in which Paul left with a left leg injury in the fourth quarter. The Rockets have not won since and suffered their worst loss of the bunch on Friday as Paul returned but did little to improve the defense as the Wizards buried 18 3-pointers and shot 53.4 percent from the floor. Los Angeles has not won since toppling Houston and was swept on a four-game homestand despite facing the sub-.500 Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers in the last two games. "I just don't think we were ready, for whatever reason, to engage in the fight," Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters after the 121-106 loss to the Clippers. "... It is frustrating because we are in front of our home crowd and playing against the cross-town team. That is not who we are as an organization, that is not who this group has been all season, so it is frustrating for that reason."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)

ABOUT THE LAKERS (11-23): Los Angeles is in the midst of a brutal stretch of schedule that included three games against the Golden State Warriors and three against the Rockets in just over a month, and the team held a meeting to air grievances prior to Friday's contest. "If you play the Rockets and the Warriors six times combined in one month, that will get you," forward Larry Nance Jr. told ESPN.com. "We might just be feeling the effects of that, we might be in a bit of a lull, but whatever it is, we got to snap out of it quick because it can get out of hand." The Lakers will see three teams in a row with winning records - Houston, Minnesota and Oklahoma City - before the schedule eases.

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (25-9): Houston is coming back from a frustrating road trip that included squandering a 26-point lead at Boston on Thursday and Friday's setback at Washington. Star guard James Harden shot 35.6 percent from the floor in the three road games and went 9-of-30 from 3-point range. Paul struggled in his return, managing eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, but did not report any pain and is expected to be joined on Sunday by starting center Clint Capela, who sat out the last two games with an orbital fracture.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Lakers rookie PG Lonzo Ball (shoulder) sat out the last three games and is not expected to play Sunday.

2. Rockets SG Gerald Green scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting Friday in his second game since signing as a free agent.

3. Los Angeles' win on Dec. 20 snapped a three-game losing streak in the series, during which Houston won by an average of 33.7 points.

PREDICTION: Rockets 120, Lakers 105