The Houston Rockets didn't seem to miss James Harden for 40 minutes on Tuesday, but they certainly could have used their MVP candidate as they went cold over the final eight while blowing a sizable lead.
He'll be back for Wednesday night's showdown with the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, who should have a well-rested Tony Allen ready to chase around the league's leading scorer.
The Rockets (41-19) haven't had Dwight Howard for going on six weeks, but it took until Tuesday before they played a game without Harden thanks to a league-mandated suspension for his kick of LeBron James in the groin two days earlier.
Houston led Atlanta by 14 at halftime and 12 with less than eight minutes to play, but it went 2 for 14 the rest of the way as the Hawks closed on a 26-6 run to win 104-96 and end the Rockets' winning streak at five.
"It's not a one- or two-man show," said Jason Terry, who scored a season-high 21 points. "We have a deep team, a team that has veteran guys who have been in every possible situation."
The Southwest Division-leading Grizzlies (42-17) also were short-handed the night before this contest, which pits the teams with the second- and third-best records in the Western Conference. Allen was suspended by the team prior to Tuesday's game against Utah for a violation of team policy, while Zach Randolph and Beno Udrih didn't play due to illness.
Memphis shot just 40.2 percent without those three and was outrebounded 55-37 -- its worst margin this season -- in a 93-82 home loss. The Grizzlies opened the All-Star break with five games in seven nights, and after two days off Tuesday's began a stretch of four in five.
"I'm not disappointed in our effort at all," coach Dave Joerger said. "The ball didn't go in, but that's kind of where we are right now."
Only Orlando has averaged fewer points than Memphis' 90.9 since Feb. 8.
"We need to play well and we need to get a win. It doesn't matter who it is," Joerger said. "But (Wednesday), you get a win, they get a loss and it counts as two (in the division)."
The Rockets are 1 1/2 games behind the Grizzlies heading into their final meeting of the regular season, but they can make sure any future tiebreakers go their way with a win. After a 119-93 loss at Memphis on Nov. 17 that saw Harden held to six points -- tied for his fewest in 222 games in a Houston uniform -- the Rockets had a 106-83 edge on the boards in two December wins.
Harden had 32 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the latest, Houston's 117-111 overtime victory on Dec. 26 -- a game Randolph missed with a knee injury.
This will be the Rockets' first look at Memphis with Jeff Green in the lineup, but he's struggling a bit after averaging 12.5 points in his first 18 games since coming over from Boston -- a stretch in which the Grizzlies went 15-3. Green has been held to 8.0 per game and shot 30.3 percent as Memphis has dropped three of four.
Mike Conley's slump dates back to before the All-Star break. He's shooting 32.6 percent in his past eight games while averaging 10.9 points and just 4.5 assists.
While the Rockets haven't seen the Grizzlies with Green around, Memphis hasn't gotten a look at Houston with a healthy Terrence Jones. Absent for the first three meetings with a left leg injury, Jones has averaged 18.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and shot 62.7 percent since returning to the starting lineup Feb. 23.
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