Kings vs. Rockets watch guide: Lineups, injury report, player usage

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HOUSTON -- The Sacramento Kings make a stop in Houston Saturday evening looking to take down the high-powered Houston Rockets. They'll need a team effort to avoid dropping a second straight game on their five-game road trip.

De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield put up big numbers Thursday evening in New Orleans, but the Kings couldn't slow down the Pelicans in the paint. They'll face a different beast when they roll into Houston on Saturday evening trying to avoid postseason elimination.

[RELATED: How to watch Kings-Rockets online and on MyTeams app]

Houston is finishing the season strong. They've won 15 of their previous 18 games to move into fourth position in the Western Conference standings. The Rockets trail the Blazers by a half game for the three seed and hold a two-game lead over the Jazz for fifth place.

Kings Pregame Live on NBC Sports California begins at 2:30 p.m., with tipoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. All coverage can be seen on the MyTeams by NBC Sports app.

The Kings finish off their five-game road trip Sunday in San Antonio. They'll play these same Rockets on Tuesday evening at Golden 1 Center to kick off the final five games of the 2018-19 schedule.

Line

Rockets by 10

Projected Lineups

Kings
PG De’Aaron Fox
SG Buddy Hield
SF Bogdan Bogdanovic
PF Harrison Barnes
C Willie Cauley-Stein

Rockets
PG Chris Paul
SG James Harden
SF Eric Gordon
PF P.J. Tucker
C Clint Capela

Injury Report

Kings 
C Harry Giles (thigh bruise) out, F Nemanja Bjelica (stomach ailment) out

Rockets
PF Kenneth Faried (knee) out, SG Gerald Green (adductor) out.

Rotation Outlook

Kings

Dave Joerger's crew is on the brink of elimination from the postseason picture. With seven games remaining, they have a magic number for elimination of just one. A single loss or wins by both the Thunder and Spurs will seal the Kings' 13th consecutive season without a playoff appearance.

With 254 3-point makes this season, Buddy Hield now has 578 through the first three seasons of his career. He needs 21 more in the final seven games to match Damian Lillard's NBA record of 599 makes.

Harry Giles is out for a fifth consecutive game with a thigh contusion. Giles continues to receive treatment for the injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Rockets

James Harden appears set to win his second straight NBA MVP trophy this season. The 29-year-old guard is averaging a career-high 36.2 points per game to go with 7.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game. He has a green light to hoist from anywhere on the court and he leads the league in both 3-point and free throw makes.

[RELATED: Kings set new goal of finishing season over .500, with playoff hopes over]

Despite having the league's leading scorer, the Rockets rank just 11th in the league in scoring at 112.9 points per game. They also rank 11th in points allowed, giving up 109.4 a night.

Houston will try to slow the Kings down and get into a methodical pick-and-roll game featuring Harden, who is averaging 35 points per game against the Kings this season.

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