The Portland Trail Blazers take on the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Monday night.

The Trail Blazers (5-8) have uncharacteristically struggled in the early going, and they'll come into Monday's contest having dropped six of their last eight games. However, Portland was successful in its most recent time on the court, toppling the San Antonio Spurs by a 121-116 score on Saturday night, a game in which coach Gregg Popovich was ejected for arguing a call. C.J. McCollum led the way for Portland with 32 points, a total he complemented with seven assists, six rebounds and one steal. Damian Lillard followed with 22 points despite shooting just 4-for-19 and also posted six rebounds and six assists. Hassan Whiteside generated a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double that also included three blocks. Rodney Hood contributed 16 points, four rebounds and two assists. Mario Hezonja and Kent Bazemore delivered matching eight-point tallies.

The Trail Blazers will likely list Pau Gasol (foot) as questionable at best for Monday's game. Carmelo Anthony (coach's decision), Zach Collins (shoulder) and Jusuf Nurkic (foot) are all slated to sit out.

The Rockets (10-3) have enjoyed much more success than their Monday opponents, and they'll check into Monday's game with a seven-game winning streak. Their most recent success came at the expense of the Minnesota Timberwolves, which they bested by a 125-105 score Saturday night. James Harden led the Rockets with 49 points, complementing them with six assists and five rebounds. Ben McLemore followed with 20 points. Austin Rivers and Chris Clemons generated matching 19-point tallies, while Isaiah Hartenstein pulled down 16 rebounds off the bench.

The Rockets will list Eric Gordon (knee), Gerald Green (foot) and Nene Hilario (hip) as out for Monday's contest. Clint Capela (concussion) and Danuel House, Jr. (back) are both considered probable.

The Trail Blazers won the 2018-19 three-game season series by a 2-1 margin. Monday's game is the first of four 2019-20 meetings for Portland and Houston.