Houston @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 25, 2017 ) New York 102, Houston 117

James Harden remains a historic scoring machine, but the Houston Rockets are beginning to slide. Harden will try to move past Wilt Chamberlain and help the Rockets avoid a sixth loss in 10 games when they visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

Harden scored 30 or more points for the 20th straight game when he finished with 37 in a 121-93 loss at Philadelphia on Monday, matching a record Chamberlain set in 1964. "Wilt was doing some obviously unbelievable things and numbers that nobody will ever catch," Harden told reporters. "Just to be in the same conversation as those guys is just credit to the work I put in. That's what you play this game for, to be listed with those guys, those top players." Harden could be in line for another big game against the Knicks, who sit 28th in the NBA in scoring defense (115.7) and are losers of six straight and 14 of their last 15 games after dropping a 127-109 decision at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. "It wears on you some," New York coach David Fizdale told reporters. "We want to win for our fans. We want to win for each other, mainly. But this is where we are. And I can't tell them when that win is coming. Just got to keep chopping that tree."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston), MSG (New York)

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (26-20): Harden is leading a Houston team without key players like center Clint Capela (thumb) and point guard Chris Paul (hamstring), and the absence of Capela was particularly notable on Monday. The Rockets were outrebounded 66-46 and outscored in the paint 56-38 in the loss and could not make up the difference while going 11-of-42 from 3-point range. "We just couldn't seem to get our energy," Harden told reporters. "We tried to go smaller in that second half. We missed some shots, turned the ball over a few times, and they capitalized."

ABOUT THE KNICKS (10-35): New York's rebuilding season is pushing veteran center Enes Kanter to the end of the bench, and he remains dismayed with his role. "I love it here, but in the end, I want to play basketball," Kanter told reporters about a potential trade ahead of the Feb. 7 deadline. "I miss playing basketball. ... It's tough because they're trying to give the young guys a lot of minutes and get them better, but it's not like I'm 32, 33 years old. I'm 26 years old and I want to go out there and compete." Kanter made the most of his 19 minutes off the bench on Monday by scoring 11 points and grabbing three rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Knicks PF Luke Kornet left Monday's game with a sprained left ankle and is day-to-day.

2. Rockets PF Kenneth Faried scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 23 minutes in his team debut on Monday after being acquired from Brooklyn.

3. Houston took the last five in the series.

PREDICTION: Rockets 113, Knicks 109