The OKC Thunder are among the 10 teams who’ll participate in the NBA Christmas Day schedule as they host the Houston Rockets.
This is the first meeting between the teams this season and they arrive at the day under very different circumstances. Both squads experienced offseason roster shuffles and upgrades in talent. Pardoning the pun, Houston rocketed out of the gate despite Chris Paul being out with injury, while the OKC Thunder dealt with struggles to find cohesion.
Paul returned close to the quarter mark of the season with Houston holding an 11-4 record and seamlessly transitioned as the Rockets went on a winning streak of 14 consecutive games.