NBA Playoff Betting – (2) Rockets at (3) Clippers (Game 6)

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers (-8.5, 219 o/u)

The Houston Rockets (56-26, 26-15 Away) finally showed the kind of play that allowed them to finish with the second-best record in the Western Conference, taking Game 5 from the Los Angeles Clippers (56-26, 30-11 Home) on Tuesday, 124-103. Still down 3-2 in the best-of-seven contest, the Rockets will face elimination once again tonight as the series shifts back to California for Game 6 at the Staples Center (10:30 PM Eastern).

The Game 5 win was vintage Houston with the Rockets simply outgunning their opponents and James Harden and Dwight Howard leading the way offensively. Harden had a triple-double with 26 points, 11 assists, and ten rebounds, while Howard added 20 points and 15 boards. Trevor Ariza had another nice game for Houston with 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting. Corey Brewer provided valuable secondary scoring with 15 points off the bench.

Even since dropping Game 1 at home, Houston has known that it would have to snag at least one game in Los Angeles in order to win the series. “Might as well be the next one. It’s our only chance we’re going to have at it,” said coach Kevin McHale in the press conference previous to Game 6.

The Clippers started Game 5 with less energy than in the previous meetings and ended up paying the price. They found themselves down five at the end of the first quarter and 15 at the half. Despite 30 points from Blake Griffin and 22 from Chris Paul, L.A. couldn’t climb back into the game in second half.

“It was our defense. Sometimes it was bad offense that led to bad defense,” Paul explained to the team’s official website.

The Clippers may not be overly concerned with the setback, though, knowing Game 6 is back in the friendly confines of the Staples Center; Los Angeles won Games 3 and 4 at home by at least 25 points each.

The Clippers also have some of the broader trends on their side. The team is 9-1 SU in its last ten at home against Houston. However, L.A. is also just 3-7-1 ATS in its last 11 as a favorite, and 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games as a home favorite.  Look for L.A. to advance, but in a close game, making Houston and the points the play in terms of betting.

Pick: Houston +8.5.

(Photo credit: Verse Photography (Flickr: 20131118 ClippersvGrizzles27) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)