The Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets are two of three teams battling for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference behind the Los Angeles Lakers. The Clippers and Rockets complete their season series Thursday in Houston with the home side a slight NBA betting favorite at Mybookie. Let’s see how the NBA odds will be for the Clippers vs Rockets.
Clippers vs Rockets 2020 NBA Game Preview & Betting Odds
- When: Toyota Center
- Where: Thursday, 8 PM ET
- TV: TNT
- NBA Odds: Rockets -1.5 / Total 236
Back in H-Town! pic.twitter.com/OUx8J9YNtB
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 4, 2020
Clippers vs Rockets Season Series
Houston leads 2-1. The teams haven’t played since Dec. 19 in L.A., which the Rockets won 122-117. Houston led 101-89 with 9:30 remaining but trailed 113-107 with 4:29 left before rallying to take the lead for good with a 15-0 run; James Harden had 14 of his 28 points in the quarter. Russell Westbrook had a game-high 40 points. Paul George led L.A. with 34 points. Harden is averaging 37.3 points vs. the Clippers this season and Westbrook 26.3. George is averaging 26.5 for L.A. and Kawhi Leonard 25.0. The Rockets have won five of the past eight at home after losing five of the previous six there. Houston leads all-time at home 68-28.
Why Bet on LA Clippers?
The Clippers (42-19) won their fifth in a row Tuesday, 109-94 at the Thunder. The Clippers held Oklahoma City to 42% shooting as coach Doc Rivers moved into sole possession of 12th place in NBA history with 936 wins. The Clippers finished the second quarter strong and led 59-47 at halftime. The game was really over at that point. The 15-point margin matched Oklahoma City’s worst home loss of the season.
Kawhi Leonard racked up 25 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Paul George said he was still a “work in progress” following his 16-point effort in Tuesday’s easy win. “[George], he’s just missed so much. You can see him picking up for sure,” said Rivers when asked about PG-13’s up-and-down season. “I think he still has conditioning to do, which is so late in the season to be saying that, but with his injuries and the type of injuries he’s had, he’s not been able to run.”
Montrezl Harrell tweaked his left ankle vs. the Thunder but finished the game with 16 points, three rebounds and one assist in 20 minutes. After the game, he insisted that his ankle was fine and he’s planning on playing on Thursday, but the team might overrule him.
The Clippers are 8-0 this season when they enter a contest with no injuries to report. Overall this season, the Clippers have used 29 starting lineups which is tied for the most different starting lineups in the NBA.
The Clippers are 12-1 this season when they make at least 15 three-pointers. The Clippers have 25 games this season where they have scored 120+ points which ranks tied for second in the NBA.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 116.1
- Field Goal %: 46.44
- Three Point %: 36.75
- Free Throw %: 79.17
- Total Rebounds: 47.87
Defense
- Total Score: 109.75
- Field Goal %: 43.7
- Three Point %: 34.56
- Free Throw %: 75.9
- Total Rebounds: 45.56
Why Bet on Houston?
Houston (39-21) had a six-game winning streak end Monday in a 125-123 upset loss at the New York Knicks. The Rockets, playing without a traditional center, couldn’t overcome the Knicks’ whopping 65-34 rebounding advantage, or New York’s 64-36 edge in points in the paint. The Knicks ended a nine-game home losing streak against the Rockets with their first victory over them since Jan. 26, 2009 — when Houston coach Mike D’Antoni was on the other sideline.
James Harden had 35 points and eight assists for the Rockets. Russell Westbrook cooled off in shooting 9-of-19 from the field and 5-of-7 from the line for 24 points with nine rebounds, three assists and six turnovers in 37 minutes. Westbrook missed the potential tying jumper at the buzzer.
Robert Covington had another terrific showing Monday, shooting 7-of-14 for 20 points with 13 rebounds. Since joining Houston, Covington is averaging 13.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. Covington is the tallest Rocket in the starting lineup at 6-8 but has been doing a terrific job protecting the rim — his recent streak of three or more blocked shots in six consecutive games is tied for the longest such streak by any Rockets player since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995.
Danuel House had 20 points vs. New York. The Rockets are 31-12 when he starts this season and 8-9 otherwise. Houston has scored 20+ points in three of the past 15 games after doing so twice over his first 78 games played as a Rocket going back to last season.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 118.88
- Field Goal %: 45.45
- Three Point %: 35.14
- Free Throw %: 78.93
- Total Rebounds: 45.12
Defense
- Total Score: 114.25
- Field Goal %: 45.96
- Three Point %: 34.48
- Free Throw %: 76.07
- Total Rebounds: 47.33
Clippers vs Rockets Game Trends
- LA Clippers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of LA Clippers’ last 9 games.
- LA Clippers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against Houston.
- LA Clippers are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games when playing on the road against Houston.
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston’s last 6 games.
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston’s last 6 games against LA Clippers.
Clippers vs Rockets Expert Prediction
Rockets 119, Clippers 116
