We've been over this, but it bears repeating: over the last eight seasons, the home team has won every game in the Rockets-Raptors series. Sixteen straight games where you could predict the winner by which country the game was being played in.
That is, until March 6, when the Rockets grabbed what is arguably their most impressive win of the season by staging a crazy comeback in the fourth quarter, on a back-to-back no less. Our own Ethan Rothstein called it "bonkers" and no one can really dispute that. Houston outscored the Raptors 36-22 in the fourth quarter. Corey Brewer went 5-10 from deep for the game and James Harden finished with 18 points...in the fourth quarter. In all, the Beard had 40/14/5.
But that's enough about that game. Let's talk about tonight. On Good Friday, it will be Houston's job to continue to make the Toyota Center a house of horrors for the Raptors. It will not be easy.
Toronto sits 2 games behind the Cavs for first place in the East and just one game back in the loss column. They will be working their butts off to win this one. The Raptors have won four of their last five, with the one loss coming in Boston without Kyle Lowry or Patrick Patterson. Just a few days earlier they beat the same Celtics by 14 with a healthy Lowry, who's likely to play tonight.
The Raptors are a team with lots of great players that Houston will have to be wary of besides Lowry. For instance, DeMar DeRozan has a history of torching Houston (again, he kills whomever guards him, not just Harden). Jason Thompson has had big games against the Rockets back when he was a King. Terrence Ross has even lit up the Rockets on occasion. There's also Cory Joseph, Luis Scola, and blocker extraordinaire Bismack Biyombo.
Oh, and because I haven't said it in awhile: no one has forgotten about the San Antonio Spurs.
Tip-off is at 7pm Central Time.
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