The Houston Rockets will be out to cool down the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. The Thunder (35-19), second in the Northwest Division behind Denver, have lost just once in the past 10 games and are 4-1 on the road the past five games. The Rockets (32-22), meanwhile, lead the Southwest Division. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET. The teams have split the two meetings this season with the home team prevailing. The Rockets are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Rockets vs. Thunder odds, while the Over-Under for total points scored is 236.5. You'll want to see the NBA predictions from SportsLine's proven model before laying any Rockets vs. Thunder picks down of your own.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, is crushing its NBA picks this season. It entered Week 17 of the 2018-19 NBA season with a sterling 200-146 record on all top-rated picks, returning more than $4,000 to anybody following them. And it has been particularly red-hot on its A-rated NBA picks against the spread, entering Week 17 on a blistering 35-19 run. Anybody following it is way up.
Now the model has dialed in on Thunder vs. Rockets. We can tell you it is leaning to the Under, but it's also showing a pick against the spread that cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations. That one is available exclusively at SportsLine.
The Thunder have played well since mid-January and have wins over Eastern Conference powers Philadelphia and Milwaukee. The only loss during that stretch was a 134-129 setback at Boston Feb. 3. In six of their wins, they won by nine points or more. Oklahoma City is the third seed in the West and has steadily gained ground on second-seeded Denver and now trail the Nuggets by two games. They are just 3.5 games behind Golden State for the top seed.
The Thunder are led by a pair of All-Stars in forward Paul George and point guard Russell Westbrook. George averages 28 points per game, while Westbrook averages 21.2 ppg. Westbrook, who averages 11.1 rpg, has had no fewer than 12 boards the past seven games, including 17 in a win over New Orleans.
But just because OKC has been red hot as of late doesn't guarantee it will cover the Thunder vs. Rockets spread on Saturday evening.
That's because the Rockets have James Harden. The all-star guard is averaging 36.5 ppg and has been on fire the last 10 games. Since Jan. 19, he's had five games with 40 or more points, including 48 against the Lakers and 61 against the Knicks, for a 41.1 average. He has also had four double-doubles. Harden has had to step up his game after the Rockets lost big man Clint Capela to a sprained right thumb Jan. 13.
The Rockets have defeated Oklahoma City eight of the past 10 games played in Houston, and are 19-8 this season at home. The Rockets are 13-8 ATS against teams that have won 55 percent or more of their games.
Who wins Thunder vs. Rockets? And which side of the spread can you bank on in well over half of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Thunder vs. Rockets spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,000 on its NBA picks this season, and find out.
