In the finale of a tough four-game Western Conference road trip and the second night of a back-to-back, the young Houston Rockets travel to San Francisco to face the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Saturday night at Chase Center.
Led by career games from rookie forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, the Rockets came very close to winning when the two sides met in Houston two weeks ago. In fact, it took historic games by both Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to narrowly hold off Houston.
To say the least, the Rockets wouldn’t mind taking their chances with a comparable effort in the return visit to San Francisco. They do enter with momentum after a feel-good victory in Phoenix on Friday, headlined by 30 points from a very aggressive Jalen Green.
The Warriors are on the second night of a back-to-back, as well, and they played all of their veterans like Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins on Friday. Thus, it’s at least possible that head coach Steve Kerr might opt to rest some players on Saturday.
Then again, with both games at home and no travel in between, that could make Kerr more likely to be aggressive and chase the win.
When and How to Watch
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 3
- Time: 7:30 p.m. Central
- TV Channel: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, NBA League Pass
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free in Houston markets)
Probable starting lineups
Houston Rockets (6-16)
- Guard: Kevin Porter Jr.
- Guard: Jalen Green
- Forward: KJ Martin
- Forward: Jabari Smith Jr.
- Center: Alperen Sengun
Golden State Warriors (12-11)
- Guard: Steph Curry
- Guard: Klay Thompson
- Forward: Andrew Wiggins
- Forward: Draymond Green
- Center: Kevon Looney
Projected lineups are based on each team’s most recent game, with the exception of Martin in place of Eric Gordon, who typically sits out half of all back-to-backs. Gordon played on Friday.
Injury reports
Neither team will issue Saturday’s status report until a few hours prior to tipoff, owing to a back-to-back. On Friday, Houston’s injury report listed Jae’Sean Tate (sore right ankle) as out, while Golden State was without Andre Iguodala (left hip injury management).
