Houston Rockets vs New York Knicks 12/16/21 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The New York Knicks invade the Toyota Center to do battle with the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

The New York Knicks have been in a real slump lately as they’ve lost seven of their past eight games and they will be hoping to arrest a four-game slide after getting stopped by the Warriors in a 105-96 home loss on Tuesday. Julius Randle led the team with 31 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Derrick Rose added 15 points and six assists while Alec Burks chipped in with 14 points and four assists. As a team, the Knicks shot just 36 percent from the field and 16 of 42 from the 3-point line as they kept the Warriors in check to take the narrow lead at halftime, before going cold in the third quarter where they scored just 16 points to trail by as many as 12 points. Burks shot just four of 15 from the field while Immanuel Quickley finished with just 12 points on three of 12 shooting off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have cooled off a bit since their seven-game win streak as they’ve now lost three of their past four games after getting thrashed by the Cavaliers in a 124-89 road loss last night. Alperen Sengun led the team in scoring with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Josh Christopher added 17 points with four assists while Kenyon Martin Jr. chipped in with 14 points. As a team, the Rockets shot just 38 percent from the field and a miserly five of 29 from the 3-point line as they struggled right from the start and scored just 16 points in the first quarter to trail by double digits early and the lead only grew as the game wore on. Jae’Sean Tate was the only starter to finish in double figures as he scored 12 points, Aaron Brooks scored just three points on one of six shooting while Garrison Matthews scored just one point on zero of six shooting.

Looking at the betting trends, the Knicks are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games against a team with a losing record, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games as a road favorite and 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall. The Rockets are 16-36 ATS in their last 52 home games, 17-38 ATS in their last 55 games against a team with a losing record and 5-0 ATS in their last five games overall.

Head to head, the over is 4-1-1 in the last six meetings overall, the Knicks are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall and the Knicks are 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings in Houston.

The Rockets were really surprising teams during their seven-game win streak, but it looks like they’ve come back down to Earth after getting completely blown out by the Cavaliers last night. The Knicks are still searching for consistency themselves and they must be low on confidence as they’ve lost seven of their last eight games. The Knicks are still without RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin, but the Rockets are also missing players in Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr. It’s hard to back either team with much confidence, but the Knicks are 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings in Houston, so I’m backing them to get the much-needed win in this spot.