Rockets ranked 23rd in defensive rating at 117.8. Between their last two games, wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers, they've allowed an average of 98 points with a defensive rating of 104.

Get the best Cavaliers vs. Rockets predictions ahead of Saturday's matchup in Houston. Free NBA picks for December 27.

The Rockets have maximized their ability to create offense without a traditional point guard, with results often varying from game to game and sometimes from quarter to quarter.

In four head-to-head matchups with Durant on Christmas, LeBron James has averaged 40.3 PRA, posting totals of 32, 35, 46, and 48. In 19 career Christmas games, James has averaged 41.4 PRA, and he’s gone for at least 32 in all but one. This may be King James’ final Christmas contest, so I expect him to show out.

The Lakers host the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day at 8:00 p.m. ET. This is one of the NBA’s marquee holiday games and Los Angeles is hoping to have Luka Doncic available. Doncic missed the Lakers’ loss to the LA Clippers after taking a knee to his left calf against the Clippers.

Despite adding Kevin Durant in a big offseason trade, the Houston Rockets have struggled to win nail-biting games.

The Houston Rockets, behind Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant, dominated in Los Angeles as the Lakers dropped their third game in a row.

The Rockets exposed the Lakers on both ends of the floor, registering a whopping 23-point victory at the Crypto.com Arena.

When the Houston Rockets decided to trade away their franchise player at the time, James Harden, they knew they didn't want to bring in veterans in the trade an