Houston Rockets at Indiana Pacers - 12/23/21 NBA Picks and Prediction

Indiana Pacers (13-19) vs Houston Rockets (10-22)

Game Info: Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 7:00 pm (Gainbridge Fieldhouse)

Betting Odds: Indiana Pacers -8.5 -- Over/Under: 219 Click Here for the Latest Odds

The Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers duke it out at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

The Houston Rockets have been in a slump as they’ve lost six of their past eight games and they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after getting stomped by the Bucks in a 126-106 road loss last night. Christian Wood led the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Eric Gordon and Kenyon Martin Jr. each scored 12 points while Garrison Matthews chipped in with 10 points. As a team, the Rockets shot 41 percent from the field and 13 of 45 from the 3-point line as they allowed 38 points in the second quarter to tall behind by 13 points at halftime, before getting blown out in the third quarter where they trailed by as many as 23 points. Jae’Sean Tate had a night to forget as he finished with just four points on two of 10 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers have struggled for consistency lately as they’ve lost seven of their past 11 games and they will be hoping to get back on track after getting blown out by the Heat in a 125-96 road loss on Tuesday. Caris LeVert and Chris Duarte each scored 17 points, Oshae Brissett added 14 points off the bench while Domantas Sabonis chipped in with 12 points. As a team, the Pacers shot just 35 percent from the field and 11 of 31 from the 3-point line as the Pacer failed to match the Heat early and quickly found themselves trailing by 12 points in the first quarter and 23 points at halftime. LeVert shot just four of 15 from the field, Justin Holiday scored just seven points on two of 10 shooting while Jeremy Lamb finished with just two points on one of nine shooting off the bench.

Looking at the betting trends, the Rockets are 18-38 ATS in their last 56 games against a team with a losing record and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games overall. The Pacers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record, 3-1-1 ATS in their last five home games and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against a team below .400.

Head to head, the under is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings overall and the Rockets are 4-10 ATS in the last 14 meetings in Indiana.

The Rockets have really cooled off lately and their confidence took another hit after getting routed by the Bucks last night. The Pacers have really struggled to get going lately despite being near full strength and they are coming into this one fresh off a massive loss to the Heat. I can see why the Pacers are heavy favorites in this one, as they really should have no trouble getting the job done with the lineup they have, but that’s kind of been the story for the Pacers this season. I don’t think the Rockets pull off the upset here, but they should be good enough to hang around till the end against this slumping Pacers team.

Peter’s Pick Houston +8.5

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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