Don't count out the Rockets: The Houston Rockets have plenty of reasons not to remain title contenders — Patrick Beverley is out for the year, Dwight Howard is quite clearly not in top shape after missing two months with knee issues, and there's only so much time in the season to figure out how to reshape the squad for a long playoff run. The Rockets might very well end up proving they don't have enough to stay among the elite, but they're certainly not going to go away without a fight. Down six to start the fourth quarter of Thursday night's contest at the Dallas Mavericks, Houston out-scored their hosts 31-18 in the final period en route to a 108-101 win. The Rockets are now in sole possession of the West's No. 2 seed at 52-24, a half-game better than the 51-24 Memphis Grizzlies.
Thursday's victory wasn't just impressive for coming against a playoff team, but for the way in which it occurred. The Rockets are now even more reliant on James Harden than usual, and they likely wouldn't have won Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings if not for his career-high 51 points. Thursday was a different story, with Harden scoring a team-high 24 points on 6-of-15 shooting and three teammates joining him with at least 14, including Trevor Ariza at 19 on 6-of-12 FG. It was a reminder that the Rockets' setup isn't that different than how it's been most of the season. If Howard can get contribute more in the next few weeks (he played only 18 minutes after sitting out the last two games), it's not crazy to think they can serve as the greatest challenge to the Golden State Warriors to represent the conference in the NBA Finals.
The Mavericks' loss does not do much to impact their seeding — they're still 3 1/2 games up on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 7 seed and don't have a great chance of catching the San Antonio Spurs for sixth. Yet Thursday could be meaningful to their future if only for the health of Chandler Parsons, who left the game in the third quarter with knee pain and did not return. Parsons will be reevaluated Friday, and any stay on the shelf could be problematic.
Cold Cold Heat: LeBron James welcomed his old Miami Heat teammates to Cleveland for the second time and summarily pushed them out the door with a 114-88 thumping. The Cavaliers maintained their firm grip on the East's No. 2 seed, but the Heat have now fallen to 34-41 and find themselves in a virtual tie with the Boston Celtics for the final playoff spot in the East. Miami holds that tiebreaker due to a 3-1 advantage in their completed season series, but the Heat are courting disaster as a team that was constructed to avoid a crushing fall to mediocrity following the loss of LeBron last summer.
On the other hand, Thursday could have gone a lot worse for them, because Dwyane Wade left the game in the second quarter with a bruised knee and did not return. Wade said post-game that he does not consider the injury serious and will play again, but it's unclear if that means he will miss one or two games for sensible rest. Now locked in a tight race with four of seven games left to play against teams fighting for playoff berths or seeding, it's fair to say that the Heat need Wade to play as much as possible.
Unnecessary fun: The Warriors are apparently going to give fans their money's worth despite having clinched the West last Saturday. They beat the Phoenix Suns 107-106 at Oracle Arena in a game that featured three consecutive go-ahead baskets in the final 10 seconds, culminating in Harrison Barnes's awkward lay-in with 0.4 ticks on the clock. The 62-13 Warriors are now either one win or one Atlanta Hawks loss from clinching the best record in the NBA, which would give them homecourt advantage through the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, the Suns are still all but eliminated at 38-38, 4 1/2 games back of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the conference's final playoff spot.
Friday's Most Important Games
A busy 10-game slate involves plenty of matchups that will affect seeding, but these are the three biggest:
Bucks at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET: Miami is idle, so Boston can grab a half-game lead for the No. 8 spot with a win. Milwaukee is in good shape to finish with the No. 6 seed but can see their lead over the Nets fall to 1 1/2 games with a loss and a win for Brooklyn.
Raptors at Nets, 7:30 p.m. ET: Toronto is in a tie for third-place with the Chicago Bulls at 45-30, although they're likely to win any tiebreakers simply because they've already won the Atlantic Division and the Bulls are unlikely enough to play in the Midwest with the Cavs. This game ultimately matters more to the Nets, who have won five straight but are a mere half-game up on the Heat and Celtics for seventh.
Thunder at Grizzlies, 8:00 p.m. ET: The New Orleans have a promising matchup at the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings later in the night, so the Thunder need a win to avoid the potential of holding just a half-game lead for the No. 8 spot when they wake up on Saturday. Memphis will try to get back into that tie for second with the idle Rockets. These teams also have history, so it's likely that this could be the best-played and most competitive game of the night.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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