HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Dillon Brooks circled the Rockets four meetings against the Memphis Grizzlies, the team he played for the first seven seasons of his NBA career, on his calendar when the NBA schedule was released in August.
The Rockets won the first three games, and he says Wednesday's fourth and final matchup will be just as important.
"I want to end it 4-0 and do it the right way," Brooks said after the Rockets 105-103 win over the New York Knicks on Monday.
Wednesday will be Brooks' second game at FedEx Forum since signing with the Rockets as a free agent over the summer.
He led the Rockets with 26 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, as they overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Grizzlies 103-96 on December 15, but having played there once doesn't mean this game will carry any less significance.
"I'm gonna bring the energy from the start," Brooks said. "I feel like we started slow when we played them last in Memphis, and it's always special going back."
Wednesday's game doesn't just carry extra significance for Brooks. Monday's win over the Knicks ended a four-game losing streak, so beating the Grizzlies would give the Rockets back-to-back wins for the first time since January 3. It is also the final game before the All-Star break.
"I want to win every game," Rockets guard Amen Thompson said. "Just going into the break after winning two straight would be great for us, and we can carry it on after the All-Star Break."
Monday's win notwithstanding, the Rockets are limping towards the break. They were 15-12, eighth in the West, going into their game against the Indiana Pacers on December 26. No team had played fewer games, and they used the same starting lineup in all but one contest.
Brooks suffered an oblique strain in that loss, and the team has been without two of its top six players just about every night since. Their 26 games played since Christmas is second most, while only seven teams have won fewer games, which is why they now find themselves 12th in the West, three games back of 10thplace Golden State.
"I know we fell down a little bit, but we get these two wins and go into the break confident and something to look forward to when we come back because we got two good games coming back from the break, so it would put us in a great position.
The Rockets will play six straight games against teams currently seeded six or higher in the West coming out of the break, starting with a visit to New Orleans on Feb. 22.
