Rockets Can Launch To Second Round With Win Over Thunder

After dropping the previous two games, Houston regained control of the series with a 114-80 blowout win in Game 5. The Rockets opened as 6.5-point favorites to hand the Thunder their fourth straight first-round playoff exit. OKC, however, has covered 11 of its last 14 games following a double-digit loss.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

This point spread is the largest in the series, eclipsing the 5 points that Houston was favored by in Game 5. Bettors have pounced on the extra value on the Thunder, betting OKC down to +5.5 by Sunday night. There’s also been some early love for the OVER, which moved up to 226.5.

Houston News & Notes

The Rockets’ 34-point win in Game 5 coincided with Russell Westbrook’s return from a right quadriceps injury, but the nine-time all-star had just seven points in 23 minutes. A bigger key to the rout was a return to form by James Harden, who’d averaged 30.3 points in the previous three games but had missed 40 of 68 shots from the field in the process. Harden was much more efficient on Saturday, needing just 15 field-goal attempts — and just 28 minutes — to score 31 points.

The blowout continued the Rockets’ recent trend of winning by large margins. Their last five victories have all come by 13 points or more, and 12 of their last 16 wins were by double-digit margins. That includes wins by 15, 13 and 34 points in this series.

Oklahoma City News & Notes

The Thunder have bounced back from bad losses all year, going 11-3 ATS in their last 14 following a loss by 10 or more points. Whether they can improve on those numbers will depend on whether they can improve their shooting from behind the arc. OKC was absolutely abysmal from distance in Game 5, hitting just seven of its 46 three-point attempts. The Thunder starters missed their final 17 treys and finished the contest with just one make on 21 attempts.

No one struggled more offensively in Game 5 than rookie Lu Dort. Deliberately left open by Houston throughout the game, Dort missed all nine of his three-pointers and hit just three of 16 field-goal attempts overall. All of those shot attempts by Dort (he’d taken just 10 shots in each of his previous three games) also took away opportunities from Danilo Gallinari, who was 0-for-5 from the field and finished the game with one point.

Betting Pick: Thunder +5.5

The Thunder are a resilient bunch and I’m expecting a much better performance from them in Game 6, particularly from behind the three-point line. Look for OKC to improve to 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings and for this series to go the distance.