Houston (38-25) at Toronto (46-18)
When: Tuesday, March 5th, 2019
Where: Scotiabank Arena,
Toronto, Ontario
Time: 8:05 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: Toronto -4/228.5
A couple of hot teams will battle on Tuesday as East meets West in a plausible NBA Finals preview when the Houston Rockets visit the Toronto Raptors on TNT. The Raptors are trying to chase down Milwaukee in the East and begin the night two back after the Bucks were upset in Phoenix last night, while Houston is in a tight battle with Oklahoma City and Portland for the No. 3 and 4 spots out West. Toronto has won nine of 11 overall but are coming off a 112-107 overtime loss at Detroit on Sunday, as the Raptors once again rested All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard. Houston has won five straight but have not had much success north of the border, dropping nine of their last 11 visits in Ontario. All-Star guard James Harden continues to pour in the points, averaging 50 the past two games, and had 42 in Sunday’s 115-104 road win over the Boston Celtics. Harden scored 35 points as the Houston recorded a 121-119 victory back home over the Raptors in late January.
Harden made six 3-pointers against Boston, but it was fellow guard Eric Gordon who topped that with 8-of-12 from long range while scoring 32 points. Gordon missed the previous game against Miami due to a sore knee and his eight three-pointers tied a career high. Chris Paul was the only other double-digit scorer on Sunday (15 points), as the point guard also dished out 12 assists, grabbed six rebounds, and also had three steals. Houston will return home after this and get two days to prepare for the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
Point guard Kyle Lowry scored a season-best 35 points in the loss on Sunday, but couldn’t get much help around him as center Marc Gasol and Jeremy Lin were a combined 2-of-18 shooting. Leonard should be ready to go in this one after resting Sunday and making the winning shot with three seconds left in Friday’s 119-117 home victory over the scorching Portland Trail Blazers. Forward Pascal Siakam scored 21 points against the Pistons for his fourth 20-point outing in the last six. Toronto heads back to the U.S. on Friday to play three road games in four days beginning in New Orleans.
The Raptors put up a great effort on Sunday despite the poor shooting and Leonard being out. They’ll be at full strength tonight against a team they have handled at home in recent years. Toronto seems to play much better against the superior opponents than the teams they should easily beat. I’ll lay the points here.
Pick: Raptors -3.5
Rockets are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Rockets are 6-13-1 ATS in their last 20 games overall.
Rockets are 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 games playing on 1 days rest.
Rockets are 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games following a straight up win.
Rockets are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Rockets are 0-9 ATS in their last 9 games following a ATS win.
Rockets are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points.
Raptors are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Tuesday games.
Raptors are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up loss.
Raptors are 10-25 ATS in their last 35 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Raptors are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. Western Conference.
Raptors are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. NBA Southwest.
Raptors are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Raptors are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
Raptors are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Raptors are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
Over is 6-1 in Rockets last 7 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Over is 4-1 in Rockets last 5 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points.
Under is 19-9 in Rockets last 28 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Under is 4-0 in Raptors last 4 Tuesday games.
Over is 8-1 in Raptors last 9 vs. NBA Southwest.
Over is 5-1 in Raptors last 6 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 5-2 in Raptors last 7 overall.
Under is 7-3 in Raptors last 10 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 7-3 in Raptors last 10 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings.
Home team is 16-6-1 ATS in the last 23 meetings.
Rockets are 2-9 ATS in the last 11 meetings in Toronto.
Underdog is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
