The Houston Rockets are 9-0 straight up and 7-1-1 against the spread in their last nine games at home. The Rockets can move on to the second round with a home victory on Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz.
Rockets heavy Game 5 favorites at sportsbooks hosting Jazz
The Houston Rockets look to wrap up their series with the Utah Jazz in Game 5 on Wednesday night as heavy betting favorites at the sportsbooks.
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Houston is an 8-point home favorite on the NBA odds for Game 5 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In the first two games of this series, the Rockets were favored by 6.5 points and won each of those games by at least 20.
Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets
When: Wednesday, April 23, 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Betting Line / Total: Houston -8 / 212.5 Points
Houston Rockets Notes
Despite getting a 30-point performance from James Harden, the Rockets lost Game 4 107-91 to push this series back to Houston for Game 5. After scoring 122 points and winning by 32 in Game 1 and scoring 118 points and winning by 20 in Game 2, Houston had a much tougher time in Utah winning by just three in a 104-101 victory in Game 3 before eventually losing Game 4.
The Rockets are hoping that a return home will come with a return of the dominance they had in the first two games of this series. In their last 12 postseason home games, the Rockets are 9-3 SU and 7-5 ATS per the OddsShark NBA Database.
Utah Jazz Notes
While improved results on defense and the home crowd certainly helped contribute to Utah’s more competitive play over the last two games, the biggest difference has been the play of Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell averaged only 15 points and 36 minutes on the court through the first two games before averaging 32.5 points and 41 minutes a game through the last two.
If the Jazz are going to have any shot at keeping this game competitive they will need to get another great performance out of its young star guard.
Jazz at Rockets Betting Total
Wednesday night’s total is set at 212.5 points at sports betting sites. The UNDER is 6-2 in the last eight games between Houston and Utah.
With a second-round collision with the Golden State Warriors likely on the horizon, the Rockets would love to avoid another trip to Utah by closing out the series in this one. Their impressive play at home of late suggests that they will do just that, but Utah could keep things close if it can carry some of the momentum of Game 4 into Wednesday’s contest.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
