Mavericks vs. Rockets preview: Houston glad to be back home

The Houston Rockets begin a much-needed four-game homestand on Saturday night against the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets saw their road struggles continue on Friday night in a 114-92 drubbing at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.

Houston has lost five straight games on the road, but has combated that skid with a five-game winning streak at home. However, only two of those wins came by more than 10 points, while four of the losses were by double-digits. The Rockets' loss in San Antonio exemplified the road struggles as the Rockets found themselves on the wrong end of a 15-0 run that put the game away in the third quarter. That came after Houston had a run of its own to get to within eight points the Spurs.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks will wrap up a three-game road swing on Saturday. After dropping the first game of the trip to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, the Mavs bounced back to defeat the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. O.J. Mayo has led the team in scoring in its last two wins, averaging 25 points per game in those contests.