The Houston Rockets face the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on Thursday night.

The Rockets (24-30) have lost most of their early-season momentum, and they went into the All-Star break having dropped five of their last six games. Their most recent stumble came Feb. 14, when they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies by a 121-113 score. Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks, Alperen Sengun and Aaron Holiday co-led the Rockets with 19 points. Thompson and Brooks recorded 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively, while Sengun recorded six assists and five boards. Jeff Green posted 10 points and four rebounds. Nate Hinton matched Green's scoring and added three boards, two assists, one steal and one block.

The Rockets will likely list Fred VanVleet (groin), Cam Whitmore (ankle), Tari Eason (lower leg) and Reggie Bullock (back) as questionable or probable for Thursday's contest.

The Pelicans (33-22) appear to be in fine shape with respect to postseason prospects, and they went into the pause in play with a nifty three-game winning streak in tow. Their most recent success came at the expense of the Washington Wizards on Feb. 14 in the form of a 133-126 victory. Zion Williamson paced the Pelicans with 36 points, supplementing them with eight assists, six rebounds and one block. CJ McCollum furnished 24 points, six assists, three rebounds and one steal. Brandon Ingram supplied 18 points, seven assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block. Naji Marshall went for 13 points, two rebounds, one assist and three steals. Jonas Valanciunas finished with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block.

The Pelicans will likely list Cody Zeller (knee) as questionable or probable for Thursday's game. Dyson Daniels (knee) will remain out.

Thursday's game marks the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season. The Rockets hold a 2-1 series lead.