The Houston Rockets are 7-0 straight up over their last seven games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and 4-1 against the spread over their last five. The Rockets will try to build on their series lead Wednesday night with another win over Minnesota at home.
Rockets vs. Timberwolves odds 2018: Houston a double-digit betting favorite for Game 2
The Houston Rockets hope to continue their dominance over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday and take a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.
Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
Houston is a 10.5-point home favorite in Game 2 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In Game 1, the Rockets won outright 104-101 but failed to cover the spread as 11.5-point favorites.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets
When: Wednesday, April 18, 9:30 p.m. ET
Where: Toyota Center, Houston
Betting Line / Total: Houston -10.5 / 214.5 Points
Houston Rockets
After locking up the best record in basketball and home court throughout the playoffs with a remarkable 28-1 SU and 17-11-1 ATS run through February and March, the Rockets took their foot off the gas pedal down the stretch to go 3-3 SU and 1-5 ATS over their last six regular-season games.
Perhaps as a result, the Rockets didn’t look like their dominant selves in the first game of their first-round series against the Timberwolves, winning by just three points. James Harden didn’t have any issues with rust however leading the team with 44 points and shooting 7-for-12 from three-point range.
With their win in Game 1, Houston improved to 21-1 SU in its last 22 games at home per the OddsShark NBA Database.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota surged into the postseason on a 3-0 SU and ATS run and improved to 5-0 ATS over its last five games with its effort against Houston on Sunday. Sunday’s game marked the first time that the Timberwolves have played a postseason game since their run to the conference finals all the way back in 2004.
The young team hasn’t shown a ton of bite as underdogs this season going 10-22 SU and 14-18 ATS, but the effort they showed in Game 1 was one to build on for the rest of this series.
Wednesday night’s total is set at 214.5 points. The UNDER is 16-4 in Houston’s last 20 games.
Houston entered the postseason as the biggest favorite in a first-round series on the board at -3000 to beat the Timberwolves. One close game doesn’t change the complexion of this series, but it may suggest that picking sides against the spread could be a tougher proposition than expected moving forward.
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