While the Spurs won the regular season series the Rockets dominated from start to finish on Monday and it’s going to be interesting to see how San Antonio responds. The Spurs have been looked at as the main challenger to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference but Houston is making a charge as a legitimate contender.
San Antonio needs to even this series at 1 or it could be in real trouble. Despite the lopsided loss in the first game the Spurs are the favorites again in Game 2.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at 9:30 p.m. ET at the AT&T Center in Los Angeles, California. The game will be televised live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Wednesday schedule.
NBA Odds
San Antonio was listed as a six-point favorite in Game 1 but Houston made a mockery of that, cruising to a 126-99 victory. The scoring total was set at 215.5 and the “over” was the easy winner as Houston scored at will.
The Rockets are now 60-28 straight up and 46-41-1 against the spread. Houston has played in 44 road games on the season, covering in 27 of them and pushing once. The Rockets are now 11-4-1 as the underdog on the year.
San Antonio drops to 65-24 straight up and 45-42-2 against the spread. The Spurs have covered in 22 of 45 games at home this season. San Antonio is 40-41-1 against the spread as the favorite.
Last Time Out
The Rockets led by as many as 39 points in the first game of this series and rolled to the commanding 126-99 victory. Houston hit 22 three-pointers, shooting 44 percent from behind the arc.
The victory was a team effort for the Rockets, with Trevor Ariza finishing with a team-high 23 points and James Harden and Clint Capela each adding 20 points apiece.
The Spurs struggled from the gate Monday, getting outscored 69-39 in the first half and never really finding a rhythm offensively. The blowout loss was the worst series opening loss under current coach Gregg Popovich. It was surprising to see San Antonio thoroughly outplayed, as the Spurs were favored in the game and this series.
Player to Watch
Harden -- After the best season of his career, the Houston playmaker continues to lead the Rockets in the postseason. He is averaging 33.2 points, 7 assists and 6.4 rebounds a game in the playoffs.
In addition to his 20 points on Monday, he also had 14 assists in the big win over the Spurs. He comes into this series after an impressive showing against the Thunder which included four games where the superstar put up 34 points or more.
Harden may not win the league’s Most Valuable Player award but his dominance is undeniable and it continues to show, even against a really talented Spurs team.
Free NBA ATS Pick
All eyes are going to be on San Antonio for Game 2. The Spurs looked horrible in the opener and need to reassert their dominance early or else Houston is going to have a boatload of confidence. For whatever reason, the Spurs got clunkers from a variety of players in Game 1 and played horrible defense.
Houston is a tough team and seems to be peaking at the right time. The Spurs may be able to pull out a squeaker by locking down on defense, but the Rockets are the easy choice to cover if the spread comes in near the same total as the first contest.
NBA Odds: Spurs 107, Rockets 103
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