USA TODAY Sports
The Portland Trail Blazers are no longer thinking about just making the playoffs, but about earning a higher seed. The Trail Blazers are winners of six straight and 15 of their last 18 and will try to disappoint another team chasing them in the standings when they host the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Portland came out of the All-Star break in a three-team race for the last two spots in the Western Conference with Houston and Utah but has continued its surge to put those team in the rear-view mirror. The dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have each gone over 30 points in the last two games after Lillard responded to his All-Star snub by dropping 51 points on the Golden State Warriors on Friday. The Rockets had a chance to claim eighth place in the West on Tuesday but could not find a way around Utah in a 117-114 overtime loss. Houston has dropped seven of its last 10 games, including a pair of losses to the Trail Blazers by an average of 15 points.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, ROOT (Houston), CSN Northwest (Portland)
LINE HISTORY: The Blazers opened as 4.5-point home favorites against the visiting Rockets. The total opened at a high 222.
INJURY REPORT:
Rockets - SF M. Thornton (questionable Thursday, acquisition), PF D. Motiejunas (out indefinitely, back).
Trail Blazers - No injuries to report.
COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Rockets (-0.9) - Trail Blazers (-3.9) + home court (-3) = Trail Blazers (-6)
WHAT BOOKS SAY: "It's not often we get the same matchup thrice in a three-week stretch, so this somewhat turns into a handicapper's conundrum. I can say one thing, the sharp NBA players have been riding high on the Blazers since before the break. Currently, we have around 70 percent of the action on the home squad, and it looks like the spread will climb to -5 at some point soon. Portland overs have been a hot bet of late but we've seen more money on the under in this one thus far." - Scott Cooley of BookMaker.eu.
WHAT SHARPS SAY: "The hottest team in the league right now, the Blazers have won six straight. But a long road trip looms and they are just 11-16 away from home. Meanwhile, what a disaster its been in Houston. Phoenix accounts for two of the Rockets three wins since January 25th." - Covers Expert Power Sports."
DANCE TEAM WAR:
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (28-29, 25-32 ATS, 34-23 O/U): James Harden is doing his part with an average of 34.6 points in the last five games and went for 42 at Utah on Tuesday. Jason Terry buried a 3-pointer to force overtime but could not get another to fall as the extra period came to a close. “This might have been the toughest loss of the season,” Terry told ESPN. “We fought back. Give credit to Utah, they were very resilient, hit big shots. But this one is going to sit with us. We're going to be (an angry) team when we go into Portland on Wednesday.”
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (30-27, 32-25 ATS, 31-26 O/U): Lillard joined Geoff Petrie (1970) as the only players in franchise history to score 30 or more points in five straight games with 34 on Tuesday in a 112-104 over the Brooklyn Nets. Lillard downplayed the big scoring numbers and insisted the small things are the reason for the win streak. “I say it all the time - we don’t have the luxury of coming in and expecting somebody to lay down to us or expecting to win games, period,” Lillard told reporters. “We’ve got to come out, we’ve got to play four quarters, we’ve got to do those small things that make us the team that we’ve become.”
TWEET BEAT:
TRENDS:
* Trail Blazers are 5-0 ATS in their last five versus Western Conference opponents.
* Rockets are 0-5 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
* Over is 5-0 in Trail Blazers last five games overall.
* Over is 10-1 in Rockets last 11 road games.
COVERS CONSENSUS: Bettors are backing the Trail Blazers in this Western Conference matchup with 61 percent of wagers on Portland. As for the total, 58 percent of wagers are on the over.
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