The No. 3 Los Angeles Clippers (7-4 SU, 7-4 ATS) can wrap up their Western Conference semifinal series with the No. 2 Houston Rockets (5-4 SU, 4-5 ATS) Tuesday. You can watch the game live on TNT.
The Clippers are on a roll after throttling the Rockets for a second straight game and are now on the verge of advancing to their first Western Conference Final. The Clips destroyed Houston 128-95 Sunday to take a 3-1 stranglehold on the series and can become the first team to advance to the conference finals. LA has covered the spread while cashing the over in all four games of the series.
The Rockets have tried everything they know of to slow down the Clippers and nothing has worked. Now they are on the verge of being eliminated from the postseason after taking a thorough beating Sunday. Houston hasn’t lost three games in a row all season and need to keep that streak alive to keep their season alive. But they showed few signs of the fight needed to get the series back to LA for Game Six.
KEY INJURY
There are no injuries to report.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“When you hold your head and you hang your head and you don’t get back, they make you pay. They were making shots, we were missing shots and then we started holding the ball and it got worse from there. They beat the hell out of us.” – Rockets coach Kevin McHale
BETTING TRENDS
- Los Angeles is 4-0 ATS in its last four road games.
- Houston is 1-5 ATS in its last six games overall.
- The OVER is 7-1 in Los Angeles’ last eight games overall.
KEY STATS
34: Clippers center DeAndre Jordan scored a playoff-high and career-high tying 26 points with 17 rebounds Sunday making 14 of 34 free throws. Jordan attempted more free throws than the entire Rockets team, who tried 30 from the stripe, and set an NBA playoff record with 28 attempts in the first half.
25: With their 128-95 loss on Sunday it’s the first time the Rockets have lost two playoff games by 25 or more points in the same season, much less the same series or even the same weekend.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Clippers organization took a giant leap forward with its first-round come from behind series win over the defending champion Spurs and they are riding that new-found confidence right past the Houston Rockets. LA has looked unstoppable in the last two games averaging 126 points and everyone has contributed giving the Clips the look of the favorite in the Western Conference. We always knew they had talent with a starting five that rivals any in the league and now, with a little bench help, they look better than they ever have.
In search of answers to keep their season alive, the Rockets better find some in a hurry. For a second straight game they were blitzed after halftime, lost their cool and finished with a demoralizing loss. “This is the ultimate adversity right now. We’ve got Game Five back at the house and it’s really win or go home. Our backs are against the wall and we’ve got to show up,” James Harden said. It would help if Dwight Howard showed up. Howard was plagued by foul trouble and had just seven points with six rebounds in 18 minutes before fouling out at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Clippers are on the verge of reaching elite status in the NBA, something dreamed of when acquiring Chris Paul and drafting Blake Griffin. Now both are leading them to a place no Clippers team has ever gone. One step away from reaching their first conference final, don’t expect the Clips to ease up now. Griffin has taken his game to another level making the Rockets look like mere mortals and Paul has shown no ill effects from the hamstring injury that shelved him for the first two games of the series. The Rockets are down but they’re not out. They have a chance on their home court to extend the series but need to play much better than they did in LA. Unfortunately the Clippers are playing at another level right now and they have the swagger.
Los Angeles 112, Houston 106
The NBA lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every commercial break with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen on the next play or how many points will be scored in the next half. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets will go down Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at 9:30 p.m. ET at the Toyota Center. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
