The Rockets head back to Houston looking to snap a two-game losing streak after a torrid start to the season. They welcome the Nuggets, who kicked off their road trip with a win in Mexico City, to Space City for a Monday night battle between two star-laden NBA teams.
Sportsbooks have the Rockets favored by 4.5 points at home, with the Over/Under hovering around 222.5 points.
Nuggets vs. Rockets prediction
The Rockets impressed early, especially after notching some big blowout wins against teams like the Thunder and Celtics.
But their two recent losses revealed a flaw that doomed them for most of last season. During a back-and-forth affair against the Suns this weekend, the Rockets suddenly went cold in the clutch.
Devin Booker outscored the Rockets on his own over the last six minutes of the game and won a shootout against Kevin Durant, who shot 1 of 5 over that same stretch.
In five clutch-time games this season, they have a 2-3 record, and last season they were also under .500 in such games after playing the most in the NBA. They struggle to generate efficient offense late despite having multiple options who can initiate things on that end.
The Nuggets are 2-1 in clutch games this season and tend to pull out close games on the strength of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray making all the right plays on offense and Denver’s team defense coming together for stops.
Betting on the NBA?
This matchup is closer than the records suggest.
The Rockets and Nuggets both have really good offenses, but Jokic can exploit Houston in the paint with Steven Adams and Clint Capela out with injuries. I think we’ll see the Nuggets outduel the Rockets down the stretch, so I’ll take Jokic and Co. on the moneyline.
The Play: Nuggets moneyline (+148, Caesars)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
