Oklahoma City @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 25, 2018 ) Oklahoma City 109, Houston 113

James Harden is scorching the NBA with his prolific scoring surge, but fellow former MVP Russell Westbrook is on an impressive streak of his own. Both players will continue their pursuits of Wilt Chamberlain when Harden and the Houston Rockets host Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

Harden extended his streak of 30-point games to 28 with 36 points in a 127-101 victory at Sacramento on Wednesday, pulling within three games of tying Chamberlain, who also owns the longest streak at 65 games, for the second-longest streak in NBA history at 31. The win was the third straight for the Rockets, who sit in fifth place in the Western Conference and will play two of their final three games before the All-Star break at home. Westbrook recorded his eighth consecutive triple-double in Thursday's 117-95 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, moving him past Michael Jordan and within one of tying the mark of nine straight set by Chamberlain in 1968. Westbrook and the Thunder occupy the No. 3 spot in the West, three games ahead of the Rockets, and play two of three before the break on the road with a home game against Portland sandwiched in between.

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

ABOUT THE THUNDER (35-19): Westbrook is averaging a triple-double for the third straight season and leads the NBA in assists at 11.2 - nearly two more than the next-closest player (Toronto's Kyle Lowry, 9.3). "It's great feeling to see your teammates do well," Westbrook told reporters after handing out 15 assists in Thursday's victory. "It's one of the most satisfying things for me to be able to see your brother, your teammate, the guy next to you put in the work and see it come to play throughout the game." Westbrook recorded at least 14 assists in seven of the last eight games.

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (32-22): Houston was active in front of the trade deadline on Thursday and managed to clear enough room to bring in veteran Iman Shumpert from the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal while also maintaining the flexibility to add another player on the buyout market. "(Shumpert) is a vet who can help us defensively, ball-handling, shooting," Harden told reporters. "He's been playing very well this season. Once he gets here and gets a couple of practices in, let's go." The Rockets' most impactful move might be getting back center Clint Capela (thumb), who sat out the last 12 games but is with the team and is expected to return after the All-Star break.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Thunder All-Star SF Paul George is averaging 36.5 points over the last six games.

2. Rockets SG Gerald Green achieved his season high of 25 points in two of the last three games.

3. The home team took the first two meetings this season, with Houston securing a 113-109 victory behind 41 points from Harden on Christmas Day.

PREDICTION: Rockets 123, Thunder 121