The Houston Rockets defended their home court in the first two games. Now, the Minnesota Timberwolves attempt to do the same starting with Game 3 of their first-round series on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Rockets are favored by five points, up 1.5 from the opening line, while the over-under, or total points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 214.

The Wolves had one of the NBA's best homecourt advantages in the regular season, though the Rockets won both games there by a combined 27 points.

Before picking a side against the spread, you need to see what SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh is picking. The renowned co-founder of Accuscore and principal SportsLine engineer, Oh uses a data-driven approach to crush sportsbooks.

When it comes to the Rockets and Timberwolves, he's on an untouchable tear. Oh is 20-9 picking Rockets games against the spread. He's even better when it comes to picking Wolves games, taking seven of his last 10. That's 27-12 combined. Now, he's locked in his picks for Game 3 over at SportsLine.

Oh is aware of how difficult it has been for a road team to earn a win at the Target Center. Minnesota is a stellar 30-11 at home this season -- the fifth-best mark in the NBA.

However, one team immune to the hostile Twin Cities crowd has been the Rockets. Houston won both meetings there by 18 and nine points.

The Rockets are 6-0 against the Wolves this season, winning by an average of 14.3 points.

Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler have been non-factors in the postseason. Towns, one of the most dominant centers in the game, has managed just 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting, stifled twice by Rockets center Clint Capela. Butler has scored just 13 and 11 points on 7-of-17 shooting.

Houston's stars have shown up. James Harden went off for 44 points in the opening 104-101 win and Chris Paul dominated Game 2 with 27 points and eight assists in a 102-82 rout.

The Wolves will be highly motivated to turn it around on their home floor and there's room for improvement based on the play of Towns and Butler. But can they keep it close against a team that's handled them six times already?

Oh has identified a critical factor that will make all the difference with the spread at this number. Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Rockets-Timberwolves spread you need to be all over, and what factor determines the outcome, all from the renowned data scientist on a 27-12 run picking Rockets and Timberwolves games.