The sweep was there for the taking in the Western Conference Final, but James Harden and the Houston Rockets made it clear that they are not quite ready to go away just yet. The Rockets delivered a resounding 128-115 win that will send the series back to Oakland for Game 5 on Wednesday night where the Warriors are clear online betting favorites to take the series.
Houston Rockets vs Golden State Warriors NBA Betting Preview
Time: Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET
Venue: Oracle Arena, Oakland
National TV: ESPN
Opening line: Warriors -10.5 (216)
The Rockets were well aware that they were in do or die territory heading into Game 4 on Monday night, and they came out fired up and ready to go. They bolted out to an early 19-3 lead that the Warriors were never really able to recover from. Houston were on fire, going 17 for 22 from the field in the opening quarter, which was enough to keep the Splash Brothers from really getting anything going to bring Golden State back into the game. As you might expect, it was James Harden who led the way for the Rockets in this all important game. The bearded one was lights out, scoring 45 points and registering 9 rebounds and 5 assists. It was exactly what was needed to keep the series alive, although there is still a ton of work to be done if Houston really wants to makes this series interesting.
This loss is not really something that will put a lot of fear into the Golden State Warriors, as they are now heading back home with a comfortable 3-1 series lead. The one thing that was sure to have sent a ripple of unbridled panic through the Warriors faithful was seeing league MVP Stephen Curry take a horrible looking spill that led to a nasty head contusion. There was a palpable sigh of relief from the bench and the Dubs fan base when Curry re-entered the game after a short trip to the locker room to get the injury checked out. Curry ended the game with 23 points, while Klay Thompson scored a team high 24 points in a losing cause. After the game, Curry spoke about his injury and explained that the fall looked a whole lot worse than it actually was. He will be ready to go on Wednesday night as the Warriors look to book their ticket to the NBA Finals.
Key Online Betting Trends
Golden State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Golden State’s last 10 games
Houston is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Houston’s last 21 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston’s last 5 games
Consider This Before Placing Your Bets
The Game 4 win for the Rockets was undeniably a big one, but I believe it was just a case of delaying the inevitable. The Warriors were great at home all season long, and I just don’t see them passing up the opportunity to kill off the series on home court.
Sources
SI.com (http://www.si.com/nba/2015/05/26/rockets-warriors-game-4-james-harden-stephen-curry)
USAtoday.com (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2015/05/26/stephen-curry-warriors-scary-injury-nba-playoffs/27946963/)
