The Oklahoma City Thunder are on their way to the postseason, vying for a top spot in the Western Conference.

Unexpectedly, the Houston Rockets are making a strong bid for a place in the play-in tournament of the Western Conference.

The Thunder and Rockets will face off in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, aiming to secure their playoff paths with only 11 games left in the regular season.

Houston (36-35) enters the matchup riding a streak of nine straight wins, their longest since a nine-game stretch from Feb. 23, 2019, to March 13, 2019.

The Rockets have not seen a longer streak since their 11 consecutive wins towards the end of the 2017-18 season.

Throughout this winning streak, Jalen Green has been averaging 29 points, shooting at a 50 percent accuracy from the field.

In the game against Portland on Monday, Green managed to score 19 of his 27 points after halftime, leading the Rockets to a remarkable come-from-behind victory over the Trail Blazers, with a 110-92 final score.

During the first half, Green had a tough start, making only 3 shots out of 12 attempts from the field and 1 out of 6 attempts from beyond the 3-point line.

“Oh man, he’s been on a hot streak, so it’s not hard to get it back going,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said of Green.

A few weeks back, the outlook for the Rockets seemed bleak, heading towards a fourth consecutive losing season. However, now they stand a chance to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20.

“For sure, I’m looking at it,” Green said of the standings, which have the Rockets a game behind the Golden State Warriors (37-34) for the 10th spot in the Western Conference. “We’re making a push and we’re executing, so we’ve just got to stay the course.”

To make a successful drive towards the playoffs, the Rockets will need to perform strongly in away games, with seven out of their remaining 11 matches scheduled outside Houston.

“It’s about putting a consistent game together against a high-quality team,” Udoka said. “We just want to play consistent basketball regardless of the opponent.”

Oklahoma City (50-21) has triumphed in 15 of its last 19 games, staying close behind the Denver Nuggets (51-21) for the top spot in the Western Conference.

For only the second time this season, Thunder’s star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has gone three games consecutively without reaching the 30-point mark.

During the recent three-game road trip, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 19.7 points, attempting five free throws per game, numbers notably lower compared to his season averages of 30.4 points and 8.7 free-throw attempts.

“He’s banged up, for sure,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s not 100 percent. We’re monitoring it, but he’s certainly not 100 percent.”

Despite the injury, Gilgeous-Alexander managed to sink a crucial three-pointer late in Oklahoma City’s recent 119-112 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, tying the game 112-112 with 1:29 remaining, paving the way for Thunder’s game-closing 12-0 run.

Contributing significantly, Josh Giddey of Oklahoma City recorded a season-best performance with 25 points on an impressive 10-of-14 shooting, including a 5-of-8 success rate from the long-range.

Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. is poised to return following a one-game suspension due to an altercation with Utah’s Kris Dunn.

This upcoming Wednesday’s game marks the final encounter between the two teams this season, with the Thunder having claimed victory in the last two matchups subsequent to the Rockets’ initial win.