Rockets vs. Jazz Pick
Will the Houston Rockets win an eighth straight game tonight when they meet the host Utah Jazz at 10:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Rockets are a 7-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 210 points.
Houston comes in at 18-4 overall and 13-9 ATS after a 118-95 win at the Lakers, its seventh consecutive victory. Utah is 13-12 overall and 15-10 ATS following a 100-94 loss at the Thunder. The Rockets won the first meeting this season by a count of 137-110 in Houston on Nov. 5. The four meetings since the start of last season have gone 2-2 straight up and 2-2 ATS. The over is 4-0.
The Rockets were led by James Harden with 36 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals in the victory at Los Angeles. Eric Gordon shot 9-of-18 from the floor for 22 points off the bench. Chris Paul added 21 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Houston outscored the Lakers 34-19 in the second quarter to take a 15-point lead into the halftime juncture.
Donovan Mitchell paced the Jazz with 31 points, five steals and four assists in the loss at Oklahoma City. Joe Ingles tallied 16 points, four assists and two rebounds. Thabo Sefolosha contributed 11 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Alec Burks added 11 points, five assists and two boards. Utah blew a 17-point second half lead and was outscored 32-14 in the fourth quarter.
The over is 4-0 in the last four meetings. Utah is 5-0 ATS in its last five home games.
Houston is on some time of roll, not only dominating on the offensive end but also becoming one of the NBA’s best defensive teams. The Jazz were humiliated by the Rockets in Houston last month, but that was with Rudy Gobert out with a knee injury. Now that Gobert has been back for two games, the Jazz look like a team fully capable of making the postseason. One bad quarter at Oklahoma City prevented an upset win, but look for Utah to take advantage of its home-court advantage and cover the spread tonight..
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: UTAH JAZZ +7