The SAN ANTONIO and the HOUSTON will both be gunning for a victory on 12/22/2018 at 8:05 PM when they meet in a game matchup.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS vs HOUSTON ROCKETS
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 22, 2018
Where:Â Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
| ROT | TEAM | PS | OU | ML |
| 527 | SAN ANTONIO | -5 (-110) | 215.5 (-110) | 175 -210 |
| 528 | HOUSTON |
TV: 8:05 PM
LINE: -5
PREDICTION: HOUSTON , SAN ANTONIO
Oddsmakers currently have the HOUSTON listed as -5 point favorites versus the SAN ANTONIO, while the game’s total is sitting at 215.5.
The Houston Rockets will once again try to move forward without star point guard Chris Paul when they open a three-game homestand against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. Paul strained his left hamstring in Thursday’s 101-99 loss at Miami, which snapped the Rockets’ five-game winning streak, and will miss at least two weeks.
“It’s definitely tough, because he’s a big-time playmaker and ball handler for us,” guard Eric Gordon told reporters. “In this offense you need all of the playmaking that you can have, and usually me, Chris, and James [Harden] have the ball in our hands trying to play-make for other people and provide good scoring.” Harden did his best to fill the gap with 35 points and 12 assists against the Heat and Gordon added 20 points but the pair combined to make only 13-of-40 attempts as Houston shot 35.4 percent. The Spurs have won three in a row and seven of eight, and several of the wins have been of the lopsided variety, including Friday’s 124-98 rout of Minnesota at home. San Antonio hit a season-high 19 3-pointers — five apiece by Davis Bertans and Marco Belinelli — as it reached the 120-point mark for the fifth time during the 7-1 surge.
TV:Â 8 p.m. ET, KENS (San Antonio), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
ABOUT THE SPURS (18-15):Â San Antonio coasted Friday while getting just 22 total points from top scorers DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, who entered with a combined average of 42.2. “Everybody was willing, we did a good job of sharing the ball and then we made shots on top of it, so that makes for a really good night,” coach Gregg Popovish told reporters after his team recorded a season-high 36 assists. Bryn Forbes scored 22 points and he is averaging 19.5 on 70 percent shooting over his last two games.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (16-15):Â In the recent past Houston has moved Gordon into the starting lineup in place of Paul, but that was when James Ennis III was healthy and also starting. Ennis is out with his own hamstring issue and there is now an opportunity for Brandon Knight, who is just 3-for-16 from the floor in limited action this season, to make more of an impact. Harden figures to continue to put up gaudy numbers and he is averaging 39.8 points, 9.4 assists and 7.4 rebounds over his last five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets are 0-5 this season without Paul.
2. The Spurs have given up an average of 125.8 points while going 0-5 in the last half of back-to-backs.
3. The teams split two earlier meetings — both at San Antonio.
PREDICTION:Â Rockets 113, Spurs 108
| Tony’s Pick | TEAM |
| HOUSTON | -210 |
25% Bonus via Western Union
