The Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets collide at the Toyota Center on Saturday night.
The Chicago Bulls have been in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost three of their last five games, but they will be eager to stay hot in this one after taking down the Nuggets in a 117-96 upset road win on Wednesday. Zach LaVine led the team with 29 points on 12 of 18 shooting, Nikola Vucevic added 25 points with 15 rebounds and three assists while Patrick Williams chipped in with 18 points on eight of nine shooting off the bench. As a team, the Bulls shot 51 percent from the field and eight of 24 from the 3-point line as they went back and forth with the Nuggets in a tightly contested first half, before they came to life with 66 points in the second half to pull off one of their best wins of the season.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have been in terrible shape as they’ve lost 13 of their last 15 games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after falling short against the Pacers in a 134-125 overtime road loss on Thursday. Jabari Smith Jr led the team with 30 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, Jalen Green added 24 points while Kenyon Martin Jr chipped in with 23 points on nine of 13 shooting. As a team, the Rockets shot 45 percent from the field and six of 17 from the 3-point line as they worked hard to claw their way back from an early 18-point deficit, only to allow the Pacers to pour in 19 points in overtime to end up short once again.
Looking at the betting trends, the Bulls are 1-6 ATS in their last seven road games, 1-5 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. The Rockets are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall.
The Bulls are still missing Lonzo Ball, while the Rockets should have Kevin Porter Jr. back in the lineup as his status has been upgraded to probable. The Bulls were in terrible shape before they put it all together in a dominant upset win over the Nuggets in their last outing and I’m backing them to carry that momentum into this one against a slumping Rockets team who are in full tank mode at the moment.