The Houston Rockets are 6-0 SU in their last six home games against Denver and 4-0 ATS in their last four home games against the Nuggets with an average margin of victory of 23.8 points over those four wins. Houston hosts Denver on Tuesday night in a New Year’s Eve matchup.
- Date/Time: December 31, 7 p.m. ET
- Arena: Toyota Center
- TV Coverage: NBATV
- Sportsbook Odds: Nuggets -1 | O/U 218.5
- Nuggets vs Rockets Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Sportsbooks made Denver a small favorite at -1 on the road, but bettors were quick to jump on the Rockets to flip the line and make Houston a -2 home favorite. The total has also moved up from its opener of 218.5 as OVER betters have pushed the line to 220 points. The UNDER is 4-1 in Houston’s last five games at home.
Denver News & Notes
The Nuggets have been on a roll in the second half of December with a 9-1 SU record over their last 10 games, but ATS backers have not reaped the rewards as Denver is just 1-5-2 ATS over the team’s last eight games. The Nuggets would probably love to win games by a more convincing margin, but they are getting the job done where it really matters, in the standings.
Denver leads the NBA in scoring defense, allowing a league-low 103.1 points per game. After a slow start to the 2019-20 campaign, Nikola Jokic has found his form in recent weeks with December averages of 20.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game.
Houston News & Notes
Houston went a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS over the first three games of a four-game road trip that included a 122-117 upset of the Los Angeles Clippers. But on the fourth game of that road trip, the Rockets inexplicably lost 116-104 as 11.5-point favorites at Golden State as James Harden scored only 24 points and drew only one free throw.
Harden bounced back with a 44-point performance in Houston’s 108-98 win at home against the Brooklyn Nets before missing Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans with an injured toe. The league’s leading scorer with 38.3 points per game is listed as questionable for this matchup against the Nuggets. Houston is 11-4 SU and 7-8 ATS at home this season.
Betting Pick: Denver +2
The Nuggets were successful in containing Harden and the Rockets back in November, holding Houston to just 95 points in a 105-95 win in Denver. That’ll be tougher to do on the road, but with the team playing well and Harden at less than 100 percent with his sprained toe, Denver should find a way.
- Denver is 2-10 SU in its last 12 games vs Houston.
- Houston is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games vs Western Conference foes.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston’s last 5 games at home.
