Houston Rockets (9-19) vs Portland Trail Blazers (16-12)
Game Info: Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 8:00 pm (Toyota Center)
Betting Odds: Houston Rockets +4 -- Over/Under: 230 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Portland Trail Blazers pay a visit to the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center on Saturday night.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been in fine form as they’ve won five of their last seven games and they will be hoping to bounce back after having their three-game win streak snapped by the Mavericks in a 130-110 road loss last night. Damian Lillard led the way with 24 points on six of 14 shooting, Jusuf Nurkic and Trendon Watford scored 16 points each while Keon Johnson chipped in with 13 points off the bench. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 43 percent from the field and 13 of 37 from the 3-point line, but they were poor defensively and allowed a total of 79 points in the second and third quarters combined to allow the Mavericks to run away with it. The Trail Blazers just didn’t have an answer for the Mavs’ duo of Luka Doncic and Christian Wood who combined for 65 points.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have been in decent form as they’ve won four of their last seven games, but they will be looking to go one better in this game after falling just short to the Heat in a tough 111-108 loss on Thursday. Jalen Green led the way with 22 points, Kevin Porter Jr. added 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Jabari Smith Jr. tallied 15 points with 11 rebounds. As a team, the Rockets shot 46 percent from the field and nine of 33 from the 3-point line, but they were poor defensively and were always fighting an uphill battle after leaking 37 points in the second quarter to trail by 14 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Trail Blazers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record, 11-4 ATS in their last 15 road games and 6-0 ATS in their last six games overall. The Rockets are 6-0-1 ATS in their last seven home games, 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games against a team with a winning record and 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the under is 11-5 in the last 16 meetings overall and the Trail Blazers are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings in Houston.
The Trail Blazers have been solid since getting Lillard back into the lineup, but they will be eager to put up a better performance after getting blown out by the Mavericks last night. The Rockets have come to life with four wins in their last seven games and they were more than competitive in their narrow loss to the Heat on Thursday. The Rockets have the advantage of extra rest as they haven’t played since Thursday, but the Trail Blazers have clearly been the more consistent and reliable team to bet on and I think they’ll get the job done in this spot.
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Peter’s Pick Portland -4
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
