Oklahoma City @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 6, 2018 ) Houston 122, Oklahoma City 112

The Houston Rockets are still playing hard despite already having homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs and the best record in franchise history clinched. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who visit the Rockets on Saturday, are still trying to lock down their own postseason spot and lost four of their last five games.

The Thunder have been off since dropping a 111-107 decision at home to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday and spent the next few days watching the standings in the Western Conference tighten to the point that six teams are fighting over five spots. "We control our own destiny," power forward Patrick Patterson told the team's website. "By any means necessary we have to get these three wins. So, what other teams do, we don't pay attention to it. At the end of the day, we have to win and that's our only focus and that should be our only focus." Houston won 30 of its last 32 games and used a last-second shot from point guard Chris Paul to earn a 96-94 triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. The Rockets are keeping their foot on the pedal to stay sharp for the playoffs, and both Paul and James Harden logged over 30 minutes in the win.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC

ABOUT THE THUNDER (45-34): All-Star forward Paul George is a free agent after the season and insists the ending of the current campaign won’t influence his decision to stay with the franchise long term. A small change that could help the team in the near future would be an improvement in shooting for George, who went 5-of-19 from the floor on Tuesday and has not hit even half of his shots in a game since going 10-of-15 at Memphis on Feb. 14. "There's something mechanical in my shot," George told reporters. "I've had struggles throughout the season and my career of shooting, but it's all just been about not making shots. I don't know what it is. It feels funny. Shooting the ball feels funny. So, I'm going to work with the trainers and try and figure that out. But I don't feel myself shooting the ball right now."

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (64-15): Harden and Paul are carrying the scoring load, but center Clint Capela continues to be a solid member of the star trio. The 23-year-old recorded his third consecutive double-double and 41st of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday and anchored the defense with a pair of steals and a block. Capela leads the NBA in field-goal percentage at .652 and pulled out of a rare shooting slump by combining to go 13-of-16 from the floor over the last two games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Rockets SG Eric Gordon (foot) sat out Thursday and is day-to-day.

2. Thunder F Carmelo Anthony went 0-of-9 from 3-point range on Tuesday after going a combined 12-of-21 in the three previous contests.

3. Houston earned a 122-112 win at Oklahoma City on March 6 as Paul and Harden combined for 48 points.

PREDICTION: Rockets 109, Thunder 103