NBA Betting – Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers (-4.5, 211.5 o/u)

This afternoon, the Los Angeles Clippers (42-24, 24-9 home) and the Houston Rockets (43-22, 19-13 away) will face each other for the fourth and final time this season (3:30 p.m. Eastern at the STAPLES Center).

The Clippers won the first two meetings, covering the spread both times; but the Rockets took a 110-105 win in the last game (February 25). James Harden scored 21 points and added ten assists in the win, but it was the Rockets bench that spurred the team to victory, led by Corey Brewer with 20 points.

“Our starters didn’t have a really good game up until the fourth quarter, but our bench gave us life,” Harden said after the game. “Our bench just took over, and that was the key to the game right there.”

“That’s what they brought me here to do, come off the bench and bring energy,” added Brewer. “I score. I run. I play defense. Whatever it takes to win.”

The Rockets had been on a tear up until last week, but dropped games to Phoenix and Utah on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Harden had a rare off-game against the Jazz, scoring just 15 points on 3/13 shooting.

“I am not worried about myself it is just the small things,” Harden told the AP after the game. “I think most of these games we got out rebounded by a large margin. If we rebound the basketball my rhythm will come.”

The Clippers, meanwhile, have been steady while stars Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford are sidelined with injuries. winning four of their last seven. It looks as though the short bench may finally be starting to catch up with the team, though, as the Clips were annihilated in Dallas on Friday night, 129-99.

The Clippers gave up over 30 points in each of the final three quarters. After a string of phenomenal performances for the shorthanded team, point guard Chris Paul had just 11 points, seven assists, and four turnovers in the loss.

“This was ugly. You have to flush it,” a frustrated Paul told the Associated Press.

The Rockets are currently 1.5 games games up on L.A. for fourth place in the Western Conference. They are currently 4.5 road-dogs for tonight’s game.

Trends: the Clippers are 15-18 against the spread at home this season while the Rockets are 16-16 ATS on the road. Los Angeles has won eight of the last ten games in the series and has covered the spread in seven of those.

(Photo credit: Fido (Flickr: NBA Kings@Clippers) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)