Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets | Predictions, Preview , Odds & Free Pick | Sportsbookbuzz.com

NBA Free Pick – Wednesday, January 12, 2011

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Oklahoma City Thunder @ Houston Rockets
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 8:30 pm EST on NBA TV

Pointspread: Oklahoma City -3.5
Over/Under: 209

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The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to wrap-up the season series against the Houston Rockets with a win tonight at the Toyota Center. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast on NBATV.

These two teams have already played each other three times this season with Oklahoma City winning two games at home, but losing to Houston 99-98 as a 2 ½-point road favorite on Nov. 28. The Thunder have never won in the Toyota Center and the 11-game losing streak dates all the way back to 2005 when the franchise was still in Seattle.

Oklahoma City comes into this game having won six out of its last 10 games including a 109-100 win over Memphis this past Saturday as a 6 ½-point home favorite. The win kept the Thunder tied with Utah in the Northwest Division with an overall record of 25-13 straight-up (20-18 against the spread). They are currently tied for fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

The Thunder is led by Kevin Durant, who continues to lead the league in scoring with 28.2 points per game and is averaging 6.3 rebounds. Russell Westbrook leads the team in assists with eight per game and is averaging 21.9 points, while Jeff Green rounds out the starting lineup with 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Oklahoma City is ranked seventh in the league in scoring with an average of 103.1 points per game, but is giving up an average of 101.2 points a game. It is shooting 45.4 percent from the field and is second-to-last from three-point range; hitting just 32.6 percent of its attempts. The Thunder are ranked 15^thin rebounds with an average of 41.5 per game, while holding their opposition to 41 as well.

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Houston is coming off a huge 108-102 win over Boston as a nine-point road underdog on Monday night that snapped a five-game losing streak. Aaron Brooks, who missed the previous three games, paced the upset with season -high 24 points. The Rockets are now 17-21 SU and 18-18-2 ATS. They are 15 games behind San Antonio in the Southwest Division and in ninth place in the West.

The big question mark for tonight’s game is the availability of Kevin Martin after he sat out Monday’s game with a wrist injury. He leads the Rockets in scoring with 23.2 points per game. If he cannot go, look for Brooks, who is averaging 12.9 points per game, to once again be a huge part of the offense along with Kevin Lowry, who leads the team in assists with 6.8 per game and is averaging 10.5 points.

The Rockets are fifth in the league in scoring with 104.8 points per game, but giving up an average of 104.5 points making the ‘over’ in this game an attractive play no matter how high it is set. They are shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from three-point range.

Oklahoma City is 2-3 ATS in its last five road games and 4-2 ATS in its last six games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in six of its last eight games.

Houston is 0-4-1 ATS in its last five games at home and just 1-6-2 ATS in its last nine games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in five of its last eight games.

Head-to-head, the Thunder have won three out of the last four games SU and is 3-1 ATS. The total has gone ‘over’ in three of the four games.

The opening line on this game will depend on whether or not Martin can go, but expect the Rockets to be a slight home underdog either way. Despite the fact that the Thunder have not won in Houston in recent memory, stick with them in this game unless the line opens at more than four points. The Rockets have been extremely inconsistent at home this season, setting them up for an off night after Monday’s big win.

The odds makers have the Oklahoma City Thunder as a -2.5 point favorite with an over/under of 209.

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