The San Antonio Spurs pay a visit to the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center on Friday night.
The San Antonio Spurs were the hottest team in the league during their nine-game win streak, but they will now be looking to bounce back after falling short against the Heat in a 110-105 home loss on Wednesday. LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli each scored 17 points while DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 16 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Spurs shot just 43 percent from the field and 14 of 34 from the 3-point line, but they struggled against the defense of the Heat right from the tipoff and they just left themselves too much ground to make up after trailing by 62-47 heading into halftime. With the loss, San Antonio fell to 42-30 on the season and 29-8 at home.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have been on a tear as they’ve won 12 of their last 14 games, but they too will be looking to bounce back after getting stopped by the Grizzlies in a 126-125 overtime road loss on Wednesday. James Harden led the team with 57 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, Chris Paul added 18 points with seven assists while Clint Capela chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, the Rockets shot 44 percent from the field and 21 of 48 from the 3-point line as they rallied went on a ferocious 17-2 run in the fourth quarter to force overtime, only to fall just short as the Grizzlies won on free throws. With the loss, Houston fell to 45-27 overall and 19-17 at home.
Looking at the betting trends, the Spurs are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Rockets are 1-4 ATS in their last five against the Western Conference, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games following an ATS loss.
Head to head, the home team is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings, the Spurs are 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings overall and the Spurs are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings in Houston.
The Spurs were playing some of their best basketball before getting stopped by the Heat in their last outing and the same could be said for the Rockets who are coming off a tough loss of their own. The Rockets are leading the regular season series by 2-1 as they’ve won the last two meetings, but I’m expecting a close contest, so I’m taking any points I can get. I’m not sure if the Spurs can pull off the road upset here, but I like their chances to keep this one within two possessions.
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