SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert – Dwight Howard will play for the Houston Rockets against the San Antonio Spurs in an NBA clash on Wednesday night. Live coverage will be on ESPN, starting at 8 p.m. ET. Also live on WatchESPN
The star center missed the past three Rockets (25-22) games against the Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans with a sprained ankle, but will return to the lineup for the game against fellow Western Conference powerhouse Spurs.
Howard, who is shooting a team-high 61.2 percent from the floor for Houston this season, is averaging 14.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, while playing an average of 20.57 minutes per outing.
He is averaging 16.5 points and 12 rebounds against San Antonio this season from two games.
The Spurs won both previous meetings between these two sides.
Meanwhile, San Antonio will again be with its star center Tim Duncan, who continues to recover from right knee soreness.
Duncan, who is averaging career lows 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, missed the defeat against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.
It will be the third game Duncan will miss in the past four outings.
Kawhi Leonard leads the Spurs this season in scoring, at 20 points per game, while pulling down 6.8 rebounds.
However, he is collecting 21 points and seven boards against Houston from two battles this campaign.
Shooting guard James Harden is averaging 27.7 points, seven assists and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Houston Rockets, who are on a three-game winning streak.
He is averaging 18.5 points and six assists per game against the Spurs this season, and shooting 41.9 percent from the two previous outings.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge has been struggling in recent meetings for San Antonio, but he is averaging 21 points, nine rebounds, and is shooting 57.6 percent from the floor against the Rockets.
San Antonio, which is 24-0 at home this season, is favored by 10 points to beat Houston, while the game’s total is set at 209.
In the meantime, defending champions Golden State Warriors (41-4) put their undefeated and 21-0 home record on the line against the Dallas Mavericks.
Last time out at the ORACLE Arena, the Warriors hammered the Spurs 120-90 on Monday night with Stephen Curry scoring 37 points for the defending champions.
The Mavericks head into this game without star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who will be rested, the team reported.
The full NBA Schedule and TV Channels Are below:
Wednesday, January 27
Phoenix at Cleveland 6:00 PM FSAZ FSOH
Denver at Boston 6:30 PM ALT CSNN
Philadelphia at Detroit 6:30 PM CSN FSDT
Los Angeles Clippers at Atlanta 7:00 PM FSW2
Oklahoma City at Minnesota 7:00 PM FSOK FSN
Houston at San Antonio 7:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Charlotte at Utah 8:00 PM ROOT
Dallas at Golden State 9:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN, FSSW, CSNB
