Two Western Conference teams struggling all season long are colliding tonight at the Toyota Center as the Houston Rockets aim to keep their playoff hopes alive against the Phoenix Suns.

The Rockets are among the teams disappointing this season, especially coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance in their previous campaign. Currently, they are ninth in the West with a 38-40 record, trying to take the eighth spot from the Utah Jazz who are at 39-39. 

Unfortunately, Houston's last game did not help as it lost, Wednesday, to the Dallas Mavericks on the road, 88-86. 

In the loss, All-Star guard James Harden again carried the load for Houston as he scored 26 points with five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and two rejections. 

Following Harden was big man Michael Beasley who tallied 15 points off the bench, while former All-Star center Dwight Howard had a double-double, 14 points and 16 boards. 

Their efforts were not enough as they experienced their sixth loss in their past 10 games, which is really giving them a harder task of making it to the postseason. 

The Suns, on the other hand, are already eliminated from playoff contention and are also riding a seven-game losing streak. 

Phoenix's most recent fall was Tuesday on the road against the Atlanta Hawks, 103-90. 

Leading the way for the Suns versus Atlanta was thriving rookie guard Devin Booker who exploded for 34 points, also adding five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. 

Booker's backcourt partner, Ronnie Price, contributed 14 points, three rebounds, four assists, and four steals. 

Forward Mirza Teletovic was a spark from the bench as he added 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. 

The Suns remained second to the last in the West with a 20-58 record after losing to the Hawks. 

The Western Conference matchup between the Rockets and the Suns takes place tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET and to watch via live stream, click here.