The Houston Rockets (28-16) head to the Mile High City to play the Denver Nuggets (31-14) at 3:30 p.m. ET at Pepsi Center. We analyze Rockets-Nuggets odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
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Rockets at Nuggets: Key injuries
Rockets
- SG James Harden (thigh) questionable
- SG Gerald Green (foot) out
- C Nene Hilario (groin) out
Nuggets
- PF Mason Plumlee (foot) out
- PF Paul Millsap (knee) out
- PG Jamal Murray (ankle) out
- C Bol Bol (foot) out
Rockets at Nuggets: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Nuggets 125, Rockets 113
Moneyline (ML)
Consistency hasn’t been a thing with the Rockets or Nuggets recently; Houston has won its last two games after losing four straight and Denver is 2-2 in its last four games. If Harden misses Sunday’s game, then who will buffer PG Russell Westbrook from another terrible outing in Denver? Westbrook has lost his last five games and scored fewer than 15 points in each of his last four games in Denver. Then again, it’s been Westbrook who has been pulling his end recently compared to a slumping Harden. The Beard is averaging 23 points per game on a .333 field goal percentage and .136 3-point success rate over his last five games.
Expect Denver to bring its Sunday Best against a Rockets team that generally ends its week in some sort of basketball hangover. The Nuggets are 7-2 in Sunday games with a plus-7.2 margin of victory, while Houston is 0-3 this season on Sundays with a minus-18.2 margin of victory. It has given up a whopping 131 PPG in those outings. Bet NUGGETS (-121) on the moneyline. New to sports betting? Bet $121 on the Nuggets to earn a profit of $100 if the Nuggets win outright.
Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
PASS on an against the spread wager. A tad nitty of a play here, sure, but I don’t want to mess with the Nuggets (-1.5, -106) because we are paying only slightly more to take them on the moneyline and I’d rather just make that bet then fret the 1.5 points.
Over/Under (O/U)
Look to the officiating crew for the handicap on our total in this game. It’s a nationally televised game and I anticipate more whistles, more instant replay, and more meddling from the officials. The crew assigned to Rockets-Nuggets makes me LOVE the OVER 227.5 (-106); the referee crew’s Over/Under record on the season is 66-32 in all games and 14-8-2 in Rockets games this season. In addition, the average total of games officiated by this crew is 229.4 points and don’t forget about the Rockets’ Sunday split above—131 PPG given up!
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