Rockets Will Begin a Three-Game Home Stand in a Pivotal Stretch of the Season

If Houston wants any shot at moving up in the standings, it will need to win these next three games at home.

Mar 29, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) shoots a free throw against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

After a six-game stretch in which the Houston Rockets lost four, they rattled off back-to-back road wins over the weekend. It was against the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans, two of the NBA's bottom feeders, but they needed those opponents to regain confidence, especially on the offensive end.

Now, at 45.29, the Rockets are two games behind a top-four seed in the Western Conference. With three other teams realistically in competition for the third and fourth playoff spots, Houston has to beat out some elite units to gain home-court advantage in April.

Which makes this home stand of vital importance. It starts tonight against the New York Knicks, who last beat the Rockets on Feb. 21, 108-106. It was one of their most devastating losses of the season, blowing an 18-point fourth-quarter lead at Madison Square Garden.

In a Tuesday-night national TV battle, the home team is looking for revenge. A win would also tie Houston with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the fifth seed.

After facing New York, the Rockets have an easier opponent in the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. In the second game of their second-to-last back-to-back set of the season, they'll take on an opponent that has dropped 14 of its last 17 games.

The Bucks have been without Giannis Antetokounmpo since March 15, and won't be for the rest of the season, considering they're no longer in the postseason picture. Milwaukee will head toward the lottery, and in a time where losses matter, the visitors probably won't go 100% against Houston.

The Rockets will finish up this home stand against the Utah Jazz. At 21-55, they shouldn't be a problem, but Utah has given Houston problems in one of its three meetings this season. On Dec. 1, the Jazz won at home, 133-125. They're dead last in defensive rating, but rank 21st on the other end of the floor; not great, but respectable for a lottery team.

If the Rockets can win three more games in a row, it would push their streak to five and put them in a prime position to snatch a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

After losing the season series against both the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston has to win games outright to have any shot at it. It starts tonight against the Knicks, their toughest opponent, with a 48-27 record.