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(SportsNetwork.com) - It appears both the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls will reach the playoffs, but the two squads are coming off losing efforts. Watch the Rockets vs. Bulls live tonight on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Something has to give when the Rockets pay a visit to the Bulls Thursday night at the United Center. The Rockets opened a tough three-game road trip with Tuesdays 106-98 loss at Oklahoma City, as James Harden netted 28 points and Chandler Parsons added 19. Dwight Howard was limited to nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Houston, which had a five-game winning streak stopped and fell to 18-13 on the road. The Rockets missed several opportunities to keep their winning streak intact. "We missed 15 layups out there," said Houston head coach Kevin McHale. "We went in there soft tonight. We didnt attack the rim." The Rockets are fourth in the Western Conference standings, one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers and four off the top seed. Houston will close the trip Sunday afternoon in Miami. Meanwhile, the Bulls will continue their quest for a playoff spot and a six- game homestand versus the Rockets. Chicago has alternated results in the last six games and dropped to 1-2 on the stay with Tuesdays 104-96 loss to San Antonio. Chicago was down 38-14 after the first quarter and a second-half surge fell short. "Theres nothing to take (from a game) when you get down by 30 and then make a run at the end. Weve got to get it figured out," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said. D.J. Augustin and Jimmy Butler scored 24 and 23 points, respectively, while Joakim Noah rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks. The Bulls shot 42.7 percent and committed 14 turnovers. The Bulls have a 19-12 record as the host and are fourth in the East standings, 1 1/2 games behind the Toronto Raptors. They still have Sacramento and Oklahoma City slated to visit the United Center. Chicago suffered a 109-94 loss at Houston on Dec. 18 and was led by Butlers 20 points. Howard had 23 points in that one and both Harden and Parsons ended with 19 for the Rockets, who have won four in a row in this series. Houston is 7-3 in the last 10 trips to the Windy City. .Mallais and his team out of Saint John defeated James Grattan 5-4 in Fredericton.The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier from Feb. . This weeks Raptors Report puts a bow on Gays brief, 10-month tenure in Toronto and ponders how his absence will affect the teams offence. Are they a better team without him? In addition to acquiring some valuable cap flexibility, what impact will the four incoming players have this season and beyond? Click here for the Dec. . - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to meet with Richie Incognito to determine if one of the central figures in the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal can help their struggling offensive line. . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No. . You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal or on TSN.ca/Montreal. Also, TSN.ca features live streaming of the post-game news conferences from the Bell Centre. The Rangers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final after Sundays 3-2 overtime victory against the visiting Habs. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears released eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers on Tuesday, one of several moves they made to reshape their struggling defence. The Bears also agreed to a five-year contract with former Oakland Raiders defensive end Lamarr Houston, a two-year contract with former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants safety Ryan Mundy, and one-year deals with linebackers Jordan Senn and D.J. Williams. But the biggest move as they tried to shore up a defence that got shredded by injuries and ranked among the leagues worst last season involved Peppers. Given the way he struggled last season and the fact that his salary cap hit for next season was for more than $18 million, the Bears were expected to let him go or restructure his contract. "We appreciate Julius contributions to the Bears over the last four years," general manager Phil Emery said in a statement. "He was a leader on our defence starting every game since coming to Chicago. His accomplishments over his NFL career place him among the best defensive ends over the past 20 years. The Chicagoland community has benefited greatly from his quiet generosity. We wish him the best." Peppers is the second high-profile player to part ways with the Bears this off-season, joining record returner Devin Hester. Those moves come after they split with Brian Urlacher following the 2012 season. Peppers, who turned 34 in January, finished with just seven sacks, his lowest total in four seasons with Chicago and the fewest for him since he had a career-low 2 1/2 with Carolina in 2007. Three times last year he failed to register a tackle, and the Bears defence ranked among the worst in the NFL. But Peppers has been one of the best at his position during his career. In his 12 seasons with Carolina (2002-2009)) and Chicago (2010-13), he ranks second in the NFL with 118 1/2 sacks.dddddddddddd He has nine interceptions -- the most by a defensive lineman since 2002 -- and his 39 career forced fumbles are fifth most in the league during that time. On special teams, Peppers has 11 blocked kicks during his career. With the Bears, Peppers had 38 sacks along with three interceptions, nine forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. But he was inconsistent last season. At times, he showed that old burst. Too often, he was a nonfactor. The defence, overall, was a mess for the Bears last season because of injuries and poor execution. Williams, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, and Henry Melton missed big chunks of the season. Nickel back Kelvin Hayden and defensive tackle Nate Collins also suffered season-ending injuries. And the Bears couldnt stop the run or get to the quarterback. Chicago allowed a league-high 5.3 yards per carry, half a yard more than any other team, and tied Jacksonville with an NFL-worst with 31 sacks. Houston started all 16 games last season for Oakland and was one of the few playmakers on a 4-12 team. He led the Raiders with a career-high six sacks and got 16 in four seasons with them. Mundy made a career-high nine starts with the Giants last season after spending his first four with Pittsburgh. He had 70 tackles and a 91-yard interception return along with two pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He also had seven special teams stops. Senn has appeared in 83 games with seven starts over six seasons with Indianapolis (2008-09) and Carolina (2009-13). He was primarily a special-teams player last season. Williams appeared in six games and made four starts at middle linebacker last season after signing a one-year deal with Chicago. A ruptured pectoral muscle tendon cut short his season. ' ' '
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