Not many teams can slow down the Houston Rockets, but the San Antonio Spurs’ defense was terrific in Game 3, and now they have the lead in their Western Conference semifinals showdown. Houston looked terrific in the opening game between these teams but has lost two in a row and now badly need a victory in Game 4 to knot up the series.
Houston is the home team on Sunday and figures to be a slight favorite. The Spurs would love to pull off another upset to take control, but it won’t be easy as Rockets star James Harden is likely to get more help in this one.
The Spurs didn’t feel the absence of point guard Tony Parker in this one, but playing without him the rest of the season could certainly have an impact at some point as he is a steady veteran with plenty of big-game experience.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, May 7, 2017, at 9 p.m. ET at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The game will be televised live on TNT.
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NBA Odds
The Rockets were 5.5-point favorites in Game 3 as they were expected to grab the series lead, but the Spurs didn’t play into that thinking. San Antonio pulled out the 103-92 win for the easy cover, and paid off nicely on the moneyline. The scoring total was listed at 215 points and the “under” was the correct choice.
San Antonio improved to 67-24 straight up and 47-42-2 against the spread. The Spurs are now 24-19-2 against the spread on the road this season and improved to 6-1-1 against the spread as the underdog. San Antonio will likely get points again, and bet against the Spurs at your own risk.
The Rockets are 60-30 straight up and 46-43-1 against the spread. Houston has only covered in 19 of 45 attempts at home. The Rockets are 33-37 against the spread as the favorite on the year.
Last Time Out
Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge teamed up to help the Spurs pull off the upset in Game 3. Leonard had 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while Aldridge added 26 points, seven rebounds and four blocks as San Antonio picked up the critical win.
The Spurs led by six points heading into the final quarter and then played well over the final 12 minutes to stave off Houston. Harden played like a star for the Rockets, scoring 43 points while adding five assists and three steals, but only two other players on the team scored in double figures. Eric Gordon shot only 3-of-10 from the field, scoring nine points, while Lou Williams didn’t score on four shot attempts.
Key Stat
39. That’s the number of points the Rockets scored in the first half, a sharp departure from their usual success putting the ball in the hoop. Houston averaged the second most points per game during the regular season behind only the Golden State Warriors and scored at will in Game 1.
However, the past two games have been a struggle against an elite San Antonio defense. Houston shot just 36.4 percent from the field in Game 2 and 30 percent from three-point range. The Rockets are reliant on hitting their outside shots, and when they don’t go down it results in trouble.
Houston must push the pace and look for easy points in Game 4 in order to tie this series at two games apiece.
Free NBA ATS Pick
San Antonio backup point guard Patty Mills made up for the loss of Parker in Game 3, scoring 15 points and hauling down five rebounds. While the team has a lot of depth and he doesn’t necessarily need to score that much moving forward, the Spurs have to make sure the point guard spot isn’t a big weakness without Parker.
The Rockets have been reeling the past two games, failing to play defense in Game 2 and then failing to score in Game 3. They should be favored in this one and need to live up to that billing. Houston should be able to do it, as their bench players should be much better this time around, which will help them pick up the win.
Check the spread because which team covers could come down to the final moments.
NBA Odds: Rockets 106, Spurs 101
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