The Western Conference best-of-seven semifinals showdown between the No. 5 Utah Jazz and the top-seeded Houston Rockets resumes this Wednesday night with Game 2. Tip-off from the Toyota Center on TNT is slated for 8 p.m. (ET).
Utah at Houston Game Overview
Utah earned the No. 5 seed in the West amid a three-team tie-break and it already took care of No. 4 by eliminating the division rival Oklahoma City Thunder in six games. Stepping up in class for this round of the playoffs, the Jazz came back down to earth in a hurry with a 110-96 loss in Sunday’s Game 1 as 11.5-point road underdogs. The total stayed UNDER 206.5 points in that loss, and it has remained UNDER in their last three games.
With two straight-up losses in its last three games, while going 0-3 against the spread, Utah has failed to clear the 100-point mark in all three contests. That might be able to still get things done behind a defense that was tied for first in the league in points allowed (99.8), but the Jazz is going to have to find a way to put more points on the board than 96 to hang with Houston. Starting rookie guard Donovan Mitchell matched Jae Crowder’s 21 points off the bench in Game 1, but the other four Utah starters accounted for a combined 35 points.
The Rockets swept Minnesota at home on their way to a 4-1 series victory in the opening round, but they were not at their best in those first two wins. After failing to cover ATS in eight of their previous ten games dating back to the end of the regular season, they have now covered in their last three outings with a trio of double-digit victories. The total went OVER in the previous three games of the series against the Timberwolves.
The main reason for Houston’s dominant play in its last three games is James Harden playing at the form that has him in the running for league MVP. He scored a game-high 41 points in Sunday’s series opener while going 12-for-26 from the floor and 7-for-12 from three-point range. Going back over his last four games after scoring just 12 points in Game 2 against Minnesota, Harden has averaged 32.5 points per game. Houston is averaging 110.3 PPG in the postseason.
Get more details: Utah at Houston NBA Match-Up
Utah at Houston Game Betting Trends
- The Jazz have failed to cover in six of their last eight games in the conference semifinals, and they are 2-5 ATS in their last seven Wednesday games. The total has gone OVER in 25 of their last 35 games against a team from the Southwest Division.
- The Rockets are 7-3 ATS in their last ten games in this round of the playoffs, and they have covered in eight of their last ten games played on a Wednesday. The total has stayed UNDER in eight of their last ten games following a straight up win.
- Head-to-head in this conference clash, the favorite has covered in the last five meetings, and the total has gone OVER in four of the previous five meetings in Houston.
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