Thunder vs. Rockets Betting Line
Carrie Stroup here with your Thunder vs. Rockets betting line for Thursday January 16, 2014. Be sure to claim your FREE $100 BET at Sportsbook.com here and remember you can wager on every play of this game right up to the final minute with LIVE IN-PLAY BETTING.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (28-10) at HOUSTON ROCKETS (26-14)
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Houston -2.5 & 207.5
The Thunder will attempt to end their three-game road losing streak when they visit the surging Rockets on Thursday night.
Oklahoma City has been playing just .500 basketball (5-5 SU) since PG Russell Westbrook went down with a knee injury, including three losses in their past four contests. The Thunder were defeated by a score of 90-87 as 1.5-point underdogs on Tuesday night against the Grizzlies despite a big game from SF Kevin Durant (37 points). Houston has won five of six January games SU (2-3-1 ATS) and extended its current winning streak to three games with a tight 103-100 win in New Orleans on Wednesday night. The Rockets barely edged out the Pelicans as they outscored them by 10 points (29-19) over the final quarter. Oklahoma City has been a solid 12-7 SU on the road this season, with a slight ATS edge (10-9) in those games, but will have a very tough task ahead as Houston has gone 15-5 SU (9-8-3 ATS) when defending its home court. The two teams met earlier this year in Oklahoma City on Dec. 29 with the Rockets suffering an embarrassing 117-86 loss. The Thunder shot an impressive 57.3% from the field that night while holding their opponent to a putrid 31-of-85 shooting (36.5% FG). Oklahoma City also won a playoff series between these two teams last season in six games (4-2 SU, 3-3 ATS) as part of its 7-3 SU (6-4 ATS) advantage in the past 10 meetings with Houston. The Under is 6-1 in the past seven matchups. As far as injuries go, the Thunder will continue to be without star PG Russell Westbrook (knee) until around the All-Star break, but SF Kevin Durant (wrist) is probable to suit up. Houston has been without C Omer Asik (thigh) and PG Patrick Beverley since December, with its only recent injury being PG Aaron Brooks (knee) who is questionable for Thursday.
The Thunder have been a strong offensive team this season with 104.7 PPG on 46.3% FG (both rank 6th in NBA) but have seen their offensive output decrease recently and are averaging only 94.3 PPG on 39% FG (26% threes) over their past four contests. Their defense, on the other hand, has remained consistent all season, allowing only 97.8 PPG (7th in league) on 42.0% FG (2nd in NBA) and 34.1% threes (5th in league). SF Kevin Durant (29.8 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.5 SPG) is by far the league’s top scorer this season and has 30+ points in each of his past four games where he's averaged 37.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 5.0 APG. He lit Houston up the first time they played with 33 points (11-of-17 FG), 13 rebounds and five assists, and has averaged a robust 24.7 PPG (48% FG, 39% threes) and 6.4 RPG over 23 career games against them. PF Serge Ibaka (13.9 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.4 BPG) has averaged 12.0 RPG and 3.3 BPG over his past three contests, but has not been able to increase his offensive output after the loss of PF Russell Westbrook (21.3 PPG, 7.0 APG, 6.0 RPG), as Ibaka has averaged only 12.4 PPG in the nine games he has played since the injury. Ibaka has been effective against the Rockets in 15 career games though, scoring 10.7 PPG (63% FG) while grabbing 7.1 RPG and rejecting 2.7 shots per game, but did little to help the Thunder this season in the matchup (8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks). PG Reggie Jackson (12.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.7 APG) has stepped in as the starter for Westbrook, and is coming off a game where he scored 17 points while dishing out only three assists and turning the ball over seven times. In seven games spanning the month of January, Jackson has nearly as many turnovers (27) as assists (28). But he had a huge game against the Rockets last month when he tallied 16 points (7-of-12 FG), eight assists and zero turnovers.
Houston has been one of the more steady offenses in the league this season with 105.2 PPG (4th in NBA) on 47.4% FG (3rd in NBA) plus a league-high 31.9 free throw attempts per game. The Rockets enjoy playing at fast pace, and are allowing opponents to score 101.7 PPG (19th in league) on a meager 43.4% FG (5th in NBA). In six games this month, they have allowed more than 100 points only once, giving up 96.8 PPG on 40.7% shooting. SG James Harden (24.6 PPG, 5.2 APG, 5.0 RPG) has developed into a superstar while averaging 27.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 5.3 APG through six January games. When he faced the Thunder last month, it was Harden's worst offensive game of the season as he scored just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting (0-for-3 threes) and contributed little else (3 rebounds, 3 assists). He did much better against his former team last season though, averaging 29.3 PPG (11-of-20 threes) in three meetings. C Dwight Howard (18.1 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 1.8 BPG) is looking more like his old self lately and has a double-double in four of the past five games (20.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG). Just like Harden, Howard played very poorly against Oklahoma City the first time around, going 4-for-13 from the field while grabbing nine rebounds and making only one of his seven free throws. He has netted 19.7 PPG (58% FG), grabbed 13.5 RPG and averaged 2.3 BPG over 20 career games against the Thunder. SF Chandler Parsons (17.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.6 APG) has played well over the last couple games (15.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG) after missing the previous three to a knee injury. He has averaged only 12.1 PPG (44% FG, 26% threes) in seven career games in this series, while putting up 15 points (5-of-12 FG, 2-of-6 threes) and only two rebounds this season against them.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
