The Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks will look to pick up where they left off in their respective season openers when they collide on Friday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets opened their 2013-14 NBA season campaign with on a bright note as they scored a 96-83 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday.

Dwight Howard, who signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Rockets during the offseason, had an outstanding debut, racking up 17 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field, while also hauling down 26 rebounds, tying his career high.

James Harden, as expected, led the Rockets in scoring with 21 points to go along with five assists, Francisco Garcia added 19 points, while Jeremy Lin posted 16 points.

The Rockets shot 47.4 percent from the field as a team, while also tallying 54 rebounds compared to the 37 boards of the Bobcats. With Howard manning the paint along with Omer Asik, Chandler Parsons believes that rebounding will be their best weapon moving forward.

"With our big lineup, we have so much size and we're going to be such a good rebounding team. Like I've said all along, when you have Dwight and Omer up there that gives wings the confidence to be aggressive and be more active while getting in passing lanes," said Parsons in an interview as reported by ESPN.

Dallas Mavericks

Meanwhile, the Mavericks will look to prove that they are still a force in the Western Conference, while also trying to start with a 2-0 record for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

Dallas started the season with a 118-109 victory over the Atlanta Hawks led by the offensive onslaught from Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki.

Ellis, who was acquired by the Mavericks during the offseason, erupted for 32 points in his Mavericks debut, while also adding eight assists and four rebounds.

Nowitzki, on the other hand, added 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field, Vince Carter also had a share of the spotlight with 21 points and four rebounds.

Head-to-Head Matchup

The Mavericks will look to continue their mastery of the Rockets despite the entry of superstar center Howard. The Mavericks have won in 10 of their last 11 matches against Houston, including three of their four meetings last season.

The entry of Howard could be a big factor, though, as the perennial All-Star averaged 16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds against the Mavs last season, leading the Lakers to a 3-1 season-series record.

TV Schedule and Live Stream

Tipoff is scheduled at 8 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcasted live on CSN Houston. You can also catch the action through live streaming that is available with this link.