Houston faces Toronto, seeks to stop 9-game slide
Houston Rockets (11-19, 14th in the Western Conference) vs. Toronto Raptors (16-17, fifth in the Eastern Conference)
Tampa; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Houston heads into the matchup against Toronto as losers of nine straight games.
The Raptors are 7-7 in home games. Toronto averages 13.7 turnovers and is 5-2 in games when turning the ball over more than opponents.
The Rockets are 6-12 on the road. Houston ranks seventh in the Western Conference giving up just 111.6 points while holding opponents to 46% shooting.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pascal Siakam leads the Raptors with 7.5 rebounds and averages 20.1 points. DeAndre' Bembry is shooting 66.3% and averaging 5.9 points over the last 10 games for Toronto.
Jae'Sean Tate is second on the Rockets with 5.2 rebounds and averages 9.9 points. John Wall is averaging six assists and 20.9 points over the last 10 games for Houston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Raptors: 6-4, averaging 112.3 points, 39.4 rebounds, 25.7 assists, 7.3 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.2 points on 43.8% shooting.
Rockets: 1-9, averaging 103.7 points, 41.3 rebounds, 21.9 assists, 7.6 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 42.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.6 points on 48.5% shooting.
INJURIES: Raptors: None listed.
Rockets: Dante Exum: out (calf), Christian Wood: out (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by