Rockets Head Up North to Indy for Matchup with Pacers
Part Two. Battle of Fifths. Rotational Returns.
Houston continues their three-game road trip with a visit to Indianapolis on Tuesday night to take on the Pacers. The Rockets are coming off a road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night. Houston was missing several rotational players (Fred VanVleet, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks, Tari Eason, and Steven Adams), but most guys will be making their return tonight in Indy. VanVleet, however, re-aggravated his ankle in the loss at home to the Sacramento Kings. Therefore, FVV will remain out for tonight’s contest. The Rockets still have enough weapons to beat this Pacers team.
This matchup is a battle of fifth place teams in their respective conferences. While Indy started slow, and has been one of the better teams in 2025, the Rockets have slumped since FVV suffered his initial injury. Houston is now 5-8 since VanVleet first injured his ankle. The Rockets are still holding on the fifth place, but the Golden State Warriors are rolling, and not too far behind, sitting in the sixth position. Despite being severely undermanned in last night’s loss in OKC, Houston put forth a spirited effort. With a healthier team intact tonight, expect the Rockets to be hungry to end their current two-game losing streak.
Tonight’s game is also the second of a three game road trip for Houston, as they’ll wrap up the stretch with a visit to the Big Easy on Thursday night to face the Pelicans. Focusing on Tuesday night’s tilt, this is also the second and final meeting between these squads. The Rockets won the first matchup with the Pacers this season, besting Indy 130-113, back on November 20th in Houston. Tyrese Haliburton struggled in that game, but Indy’s star point guard has been rolling lately. The Pacers also have All-Star Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner, among many other options. Indy is quietly one of the deeper teams in the entire league.
Thankfully, after tonight, the Rockets only have two more sets of back-to-backs remaining all season (and none in the playoffs, if they can hang on and make the postseason). Houston is 6-8 in the second half of back-to-backs this season. They’ll look to improve on that mark as they battle a Pacers team thats also fighting for playoff positioning as we wind down to roughly twenty games remaining in the regular season.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse: Indianapolis, Indiana
Jersey Colors:
Houston Rockets (37-24): Black
Indiana Pacers (34-25): White
Tip-Off: 6:00 PM CT
TV: Space City Home Network, NBA League Pass