The Oklahoma City Thunder have scratched their way back into their series with the Houston Rockets, holding on in a nail-biter to get their first win in Game 3. That sets up a critical Game 4 between these teams in which Houston will either take control or this one will get knotted up.
Oklahoma City shot really well from the field and got a great effort from its supporting cast behind Russell Westbrook to get the win. Even so, Houston had a chance to win at the buzzer but a James Harden three-pointer was short.
Houston has to play on the road again and will likely be a slight underdog, but the Rockets have to feel confident since they didn’t play particularly well last time out but still had a chance to win.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, April 23, 2017, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The game will be televised live on ABC.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Sunday schedule.
NBA Odds
The Rockets covered by the slimmest of margins in Game 3, as the spread labeled them a 2.5-point underdog and the final was Oklahoma City 115-113. The “over” was the correct call as the scoring total was set at 224 points.
Houston is 57-28 straight up and 44-40-1 against the spread on the season. Houston has covered in two of the three games in this series. The Rockets are 25-16-1 against the spread on the road this season and have gone 9-4-1 against the spread as the underdog.
Oklahoma City is 48-37 straight up and 46-39 against the spread. The Thunder has played in 42 home games this season and covered in 26 of them. Oklahoma City has been really good as the favorite this season, covering in 32 of 51 attempts.
Last Time Out
Westbrook didn’t have a scoring explosion last time out, but he was much more economical and got some help from his teammates. He finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the victory, shooting 11-of-24 from the field.
Taj Gibson added 20 points and two other starters were in double figures as Oklahoma City finally gave Westbrook enough support. Westbrook missed a pair of free throws late in the game to give Harden a chance to win the game, but Andre Roberson played good defense on the final possession and forced him into a tough shot.
Harden was impressive, finishing with 44 points, six rebounds and six assists. However, the Rockets shot only 45.8 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range while giving up some easy buckets to the Thunder.
Player to Watch
Lou Williams -- The Rockets had a chance to win this game because Williams was dynamite off the bench for Houston. He finished Game 3 with 22 points and four rebounds in 30 minutes of action.
Williams doesn’t start because the Rockets like the defense of Patrick Beverly, but if he keeps playing like this he will force coach Mike D’Antoni to keep using him. The Thunder can struggle badly when Westbrook goes to the bench, and Williams has made them pay by dominating when it is mostly reserves on the floor.
If he plays well again in Game 4, it will give the Rockets a better chance at the win.
Free NBA ATS Pick
Oklahoma City played really well at home in Game 3 to cut the deficit to one, shooting a sparkling percentage from the field and getting plenty of contributions up and down the rotation. The worry is that the team will regress some next time out.
The Rockets didn’t look particularly inspired in this one and they still hung around. Their defense needs to improve, but they are clearly the better team. Take Houston to win Game 4 to take control of the series, and the “over” will likely be the best play if the scoring total comes in similarly to last time out.
NBA Odds: Rockets 117, Thunder 112
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