The Houston Rockets defeated the Atlanta Hawks last night, 100-96. The win comes on the second half of a back-to-back, as the Rockets defeated the Boston Celtics in TD Garden the previous night. This win at State Farm Arena was yet another test, as Houston has built a legitimate resume this season.

Despite sitting in second place in the Western Conference and boasting a haul of future draft picks, the Houston Rockets don't seem like they will

Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. Josue got his start as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com. He grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media, where he is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.

Alexander's second 50-point game of the season wasn't enough to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder in their 116-109 loss to the Golden

HOUSTON — "That was my first game-winner! I feel like Kobe," said 21-year-old Amen Thompson in a quote circulating among Houston sports fans. During Monday night's game against the Celtics, Thompson scored a career-high 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting. The game itself had a playoff atmosphere for several reasons.

In 10 home games at Toyota Center versus the NBA’s other top teams, the Rockets are 9-1. Players such as Fred VanVleet are noticing.

As of Sunday night, the Rockets are sixth in the league in net rating at +6.1. Their defense is third in the league with a defensive rating of 107.3. But the offense has now crept all the way up to eleventh league-wide with an offensive rating of 113.4. Houston is inching closer to having both a top 10 defense and offense.

The Nets got a look at the team they hope to be one day during Sunday's blowout loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

The Boston Celtics learned the hard way on Monday. The Celtics and Rockets battled in a hard-fought game at Boston's TD Garden. In the end, Thompson sunk the Celtics with a last-second bucket to secure a 114-112 Rockets win.

Even as the Golden State Warriors flounder, NBA trade rumors and predictions point to them being able to land a marquee player either before the Feb. 6 trade deadline or during the offseason.