Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and the Warriors look to take a commanding 2-0 lead over Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and the Rockets on Wednesday. The game tips off around 9:30 p.m. ET in Houston, directly following the Celtics-Magic game.
The Sporting News has you covered with the latest odds and best NBA bets tonight, from the moneyline, spread and over/under to the top player props on BetMGM.
Will Golden State stymy the Rockets once again? Or, will Ime Udoka's squad hold court and bounce back from its tough opening-round loss?
Let's get right to the odds for Warriors vs. Rockets at Toyota Center, then reveal our final score prediction and full betting advice.
Warriors vs. Rockets: Spread, moneyline, over/under
All odds and props are from BetMGM, an authorized gaming operator of the NBA.
- ATS: Rockets -2.5 (-115) | Warriors +2.5 (-105)
- Moneyline: Rockets -150 | Warriors +125
- Over/under: O 203.5 (-105) | U 203.5 (-115)
The Rockets open the day as slight favorites to win Game 2 despite losing by 10 in Game 1. Oddsmakers clearly don't want to give up on Houston — or pick up too much Rockets-related liability — likely because it went 29-12 at home this season.
Golden State's winning percentage is now just a hair under .800 with Jimmy Butler in uniform. This marks one of the lowest over/under projections of the postseason so far, coming on the heels of the Warriors' 85-75 victory on Sunday.
Warriors vs. Rockets best bets and final score prediction
Boy, do the Warriors look confident. Draymond Green is back to playing chess-master, getting inside Alperen Sengun's head early and often in Game 1. Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler combined for 56 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Outside of Sengun, no Rockets player scored more than 11 points.
How can Houston fans possibly love their team's chances of getting out of this series? They might be facing the best seven-seed in NBA history, and that's no hyperbole. Steve Kerr has go-to and clutch scorers, elite perimeter defenders, tons of shooting and plenty of athleticism from its supporting cast.
The Rockets have plenty of talent, too, but they're not built to win seven-game series against veteran playoff assassins. They're still young, they don't defend the three well enough, and they're too easily exploitable on both ends of a half-court battle.
Houston earned the two-seed because it played incredible defense all season. But Ime Udoka's squad probably wasn't expecting to face an even better defense in the first round. Golden State forced 16 Rockets turnovers in Game 1, while holding them to shooting splits of 39/21/55. That simply won't cut it against the Warriors, who seem poised to make a run at the franchise's fifth title in 10 years.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Warriors 104, Rockets 99 — Golden State wins straight up, while the score goes OVER the projected total of 203.5.
Warriors vs. Rockets top player prop bet
Jimmy Butler, F, Warriors: 20+ points and 5+ assists (-125)
We're big on scaled-down mini-parlays, comprised of two very doable alt-props. Butler can log 20 points and five dimes in his sleep in the postseason, and he has averaged 26.8 points and 7.3 assists over Golden State's past four games.
With Draymond an offensive liability most of the time and the rest of the Dubs typically less confident on the road, this should be the Steph and Jimmy Playoff Show Vol. 2 — cash in on the low-bar numbers while you still can.
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