Thursday's victory at Charlotte, combined with Denver's loss to the Clippers, propelled Houston into third place. The Rockets are 4.5 games behind second-place San Antonio and face tight competition from the Nuggets, Lakers, and Timberwolves.
Despite off-court distractions, Houston has shown significant improvement after a poor stretch earlier in the season. They will look to continue their momentum when facing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.