Best records matched up as conference leaders collide

TORONTO — The Rockets’ 17-game winning streak has come against 12 teams with winning records, but it will likely get its toughest test in Toronto on Friday in a matchup of conference leaders. The Raptors have won 13 of 14 games, are the first team to clinch a playoff spot and are a league-best 27-5 at home.

“It’ll be good,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon said. “We need matchups like that. It’ll be a great game. We’re going to strive to keep getting better and better.”

The Raptors beat the Rockets 129-113 in November, the Rockets’ most lopsided home loss of the season.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Rockets center Clint Capela said. “We know it’s going to be a fight. We know our first game (against the Raptors) at home was a tough one. We know we’re going to have to go get it.”

Three of the Rockets’ past four wins were against teams — the Clippers, Celtics and Thunder — that had beaten them in their only previous meetings. But as with those losses, Chris Paul was out when the Rockets lost to the Raptors.

“We know they came to our place and beat us,” Gordon said. “We’re a different team now. We’re

a lot better. We shoot a lot better. They’re going to see a different team.”

D’Antoni wants faster starts

The Rockets have not lost since January, leading

the NBA in offensive rating and net rating during their 17-game winning streak. But Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni cited areas in which he wanted to improve quickly.

With the Thunder and Bucks trapping guard James Harden after a series of plays in which he beat defenders on switches, D’Antoni said he wanted the Rockets to attack more aggressively after Harden gives up the ball. He also cited a need to start more quickly after the Rockets averaged 25 first-quarter points in the first two games of the road trip.

“What we have to learn is when they start trapping James, we need a little more pace,” D’Antoni said. “We settled for a lot of step-back 3s. With the shot clock going down and five minutes to go, it’s a little scary. If they want to trap, so be it. Accept that, but go beat it. We kind of messed around.”

Said Rockets guard Chris Paul: “We have to put more force into the game. We do it in spurts. We have to figure out ways to do it more often.”

The Rockets average a league-high 30.8 points in the first quarter, but had gotten off to slow starts the past two games.

“That’s something we have to talk about,” D’Antoni said. “We got used to having those real big first quarters. We’ve kind of fallen into that trap, because our defense is getting better, we need to pick up the pace, also. We need to try to do better.”