Tonight, it's a Western Conference showdown as James Harden, Jeremy Lin, and the 2-1 Houston Rockets will be looking to keep their sensational start to the NBA season going strong tonight when they go against the formidable Andre Iguodala and the 1-3 Denver Nuggets.
Houston is looking to rebound from its deflating 95-85 overtime loss Saturday to the Portland Trail Blazers, a game where the sensational Harden, who averaged 41.0 points in his first two games for the Rockets, had a slightly off night, scoring only 24 points while Lin had only 13 points and 7 assists.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are coming off an invigorating first win of the season, beating the hapless 0-4 Detroit Pistons Tuesday, 109-97, where Iguodala racked up 17 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Nuggets in both categories.
Wednesday's game will mark a reunion of sports for Iguodala and Harden, who played together in London this past summer as part of the gold medal-winning Team USA at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
"We had a great summer together and one of my good friends, excited to play against him," Harden told NBA.com. "Obviously he's on a new team as well."
This will mark a first for the two former Olympic teammates, as this game marks the first time that both Harden and Iguodala - both traded from their respective former teams in the last few months - will oppose each other as starters.
Harden, now starting for the Rockets, won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year with the Oklahoma City Thunder prior to being traded to Houston, days before the start of the new season.
"He does similar to the things I can do as far as making plays for his team, kind of an all-around player," Harden said. "It's going to be a tough matchup for me but this is what the NBA is all about."
Lin, who forms the other half of Houston's 1-2 offensive punch with Harden, knows full well the challenge that facing Iguodala will pose.
"He's a heckuva defensive player so he's probably going to be guarding our heckuva offensive player, so that'll be exciting but at the end of the day it's a team thing," Lin said.
However, All-Star center Iguodala knows that facing the Rockets will be a challenge of itself, as he has kept close tabs on the rise of Houston's explosive new offense.
"James Harden has started off well," Iguodala said. "Jeremy Lin is playing well."
Tipoff at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas starts at 8 p.m. For more game info, visit NBA.com.
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