Houston Rockets (9-18) vs Miami Heat (13-15)
Game Info: Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 8:00 pm (Toyota Center)
Betting Odds: Houston Rockets +5.5 -- Over/Under: 223.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Miami Heat invade the Toyota Center to do battle with the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
The Miami Heat have been searching for consistency as they’ve split their last eight games, but they will be feeling better after sneaking past the Thunder in a 110-108 road win last night. Tyler Herro drained nine 3-pointers to lead the team with 35 points on 12 of 23 shooting, Bam Adebayo added 15 points with 13 rebounds while Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson each scored 14 points. As a team, the Heat shot 43 percent from the field and a sizzling 24 of 56 from the 3-point line as they dominated most of the game to lead by as many as 21 points, but they never put the Thunder away and needed a clutch shot from Herro with just 5.1 seconds left on the clock to escape with the narrow win.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have been in decent shape as they’ve won four of their past six games overall and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after routing the Suns in a 111-97 home win on Tuesday. Jalen Green led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Kevin Porter Jr. added 18 points while Jabari Smith Jr chipped in with 14 points and eight rebounds. As a team, the Rockets shot just 42 percent from the field and 12 of 35 from the 3-point line, but they put together one of their best defensive performances of the season to hold the Suns to just 35 points in the first half to build an early 23-point lead which allowed them to cruise in the second half.
Looking at the betting trends, the Heat are 1-4 ATS in their last five games playing on zero days rest and 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a losing record. The Rockets are 6-0 ATS in their last six home games and 4-0 ATS in their last four home games against a team with a losing road record.
Head to head, the over is 11-5 in the last 16 meetings in Houston, The Heat are 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings in Houston and the Heat are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings overall.
The Heat will be shorthanded again as Gabe Vincent and Jimmy Butler are both currently listed as out, while the Rockets are coming into this one at full strength except for Jae’Sean Tate who is still out. The Heat will be relieved that they were able to get the win last night, but they blew a 21-point lead and could’ve easily lost that game. The Rockets struggled for most of the season, but they’ve come to life with four wins in their past six games, so they aren’t the pushovers we saw the start of the season. The Heat are deserved favorites in this spot, but the Rockets surprised the Suns in their last outing and I think they can pull off another ambush at home against a wounded Heat team.
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Peter’s Pick Houston +5.5
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
