Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Predictions, Picks and NBA Preview – March 31, 2017

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Preview

Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA

When: Friday, March 31, 2017, 10:30 PM ET

Line: Houston Rockets (+7) at Golden State Warriors (-7); total: 228.5 – view all NBA lines

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Betting on the Houston Rockets (51-23)

Point Spread: +7

Could this be the start of a more complacent run to close out the season for the Houston Rockets?

The Rockets, currently locked as the third-seed playoff-bound team in the West, lost their second-consecutive game on Thursday by falling to the Portland Trail Blazers, 117-107. All things considered, though, they could actually afford losses like these since there’s a rather distant gap in the standings between the San Antonio Spurs above them for the second seed (6.5 games behind) and the Utah Jazz below in the fourth slot (five games ahead).

James Harden was his typical blistering self, as the MVP candidate put up 30 points and eight rebounds against the Blazers. Although, Harden also tallied a season-low four assists that evening after reeling off nine-straight games with double-digit dimes.

What’s still promising about this loss is that Houston’s offense has yet to sputter. The team just broke the NBA’s single-season record for made three-pointers on Thursday (1,083 and counting), and they’re streak of triple-digit scoring games is now at 62. In fact, the Rockets are neck-and-neck with the Warriors with over 115 points scored per game this season, so we know that they can hang around with the defending Western Conference champs in a shootout.

This couldn’t be more evident than their 132-127 win in Oakland back in December 1. Harden erupted for a sweet double-double of 29 points, 15 boards and 13 assists in that contest, and he needs to somehow replicate that effort this Friday night if he and the Rockets want to put another dent into Golden State’s stunning campaign.

Betting on the Golden State Warriors (61-14)

Point Spread: -7

For this brief moment, the Golden State Warriors can enjoy some silence from their harsh critics.

The Warriors snapped the San Antonio Spurs’ five-game win streak on Wednesday with an impressive 110-98 win in Texas. They’re now 3.5 games ahead of the Spurs for the best record in the league with seven games left on the regular-season schedule, and they even did it without Kevin Durant all the more.

Leave it to the Splash Brothers to make up for Durant’s absence. Stephen Curry put up 29 points that night, while Klay Thompson pitched in with 23 points of his own. And as a whole, the Warriors finished with a 51.2-percent clip from the field and made 13 of their 26 shots from downtown, as their accuracy from all over the court was instrumental in clawing back from a 22-point San Antonio lead in the first quarter.

Not only that, but Golden State limited San Antonio to just 41-percent field-goal shooting and forced 15 turnovers. The Spurs also scored just 69 points the rest of the way after taking a commanding 29-7 lead in less than 10 minutes into the opening frame.

Although the Rockets have already beaten the Warriors this season, their head-to-head record has really been lopsided for quite some time. The Dubs have won 10 of the last 12 meetings (9-3 ATS), including taking the most-recent bout just this past Tuesday in Houston (113-106), with Curry and Thompson combining for 57 points.

Not only that, but the Rockets needed to overtime to prevail victorious in the game from December 1 that we mentioned earlier, and their other win from that 12-game span was a mere one-point squeaker back in April of 2016.

Writer’s Prediction

The Warriors (-7) win their 10th-straight game, 121-109.

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