Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 1-3 straight up and against the spread in their last four games against the Houston Rockets on Friday night with their loss in Game 1. The Lakers will look for a better result in Game 2 on Sunday.
Los Angeles is a 5.5-point favorite on the NBA odds in Orlando at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Rockets are 16-4 SU and 13-7 ATS in their last 20 games against the Lakers.
Rockets vs Lakers | OddsShark Matchup Report
Anthony Davis had 25 points and 14 rebounds in Game 1 against the Rockets while LeBron James finished the night with 20 points and seven assists. But perhaps the most surprising stat of the night was that the two Lakers superstars only combined to take nine free throws between them.
Houston did an excellent job of defending the Lakers and not taking fouls en route to a surprising 112-97 win as 6.5-point underdogs.
The Lakers also lost Game 1 against the Portland Trail Blazers before going 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS over their next four games against Portland per the OddsShark NBA Database. Los Angeles is hoping to brush off this loss the same way it did in the last round.
Houston’s speed definitely gave the Lakers trouble all night long. James Harden bounced back from a poor offensive performance in Game 7 against Oklahoma City with 36 points against Los Angeles. Russell Westbrook also chipped in 24 points and Eric Gordon had 23. Harden had 39 points and 12 assists in Houston’s 113-97 win when the Rockets met the Lakers in the NBA bubble during the regular season last month.
Sunday night’s total is set at 223.5 points at sports betting sites. The UNDER is 4-1 in Houston’s last five games.
The sports media world was losing its mind and calling for the downfall of the Lakers after Portland won Game 1 in the first round, and the Lakers responded with four straight dominant performances to close out the series in five.
It might be tough to beat this Rockets team four straight times, but the point remains that Lakers fans should know better than to panic after just one game. With that said, Los Angeles does need to find a way to slow the game down and take advantage of Anthony Davis’ size advantage in the key if it hopes to turn the tides in this series.
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