The Houston Rockets endured one of the biggest collapses in recent NBA history Thursday, building a 26-point lead after scoring the game's first 12 points on the road against the Boston Celtics.
Amid a late flurry of poor play and controversial calls from a short-handed officiating crew (working with two because one was injured), the Celtics pulled off a 99-98 comeback victory. In the process, they tied the largest comeback of the season in the NBA.
But the Rockets have little time to lament their fate, as they travel to face a talented Washington Wizards club Friday.
The Rockets are 1.5-point favorites, up from an open of one. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 220.5, down a half-point from the opener.
Before picking a side, you need to hear what SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein has to say. He is riding a 20-12 streak on picks for or against the Rockets the past two seasons.
Part of his success: Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources and an analytical approach he honed while working for Pro Football Focus. He can spot a bad line from a mile away.
Hartstein knows the Wizards are looking to bounce back from a 113-99 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. But they beat the Celtics on Christmas as four-point underdogs and are 5-2 against the spread following a straight-up loss.
Meanwhile, Houston could be in a funk following its collapse Thursday, but history is on its side in this matchup. The Rockets are on a 4-1 ATS run this series, which has also seen the road team muster a 17-5 mark ATS.
Hartstein is leaning over, but what about the spread, which he has made his name picking? He knows there's a big x-factor that you're not even thinking about that determines which side you need to back. And he's sharing it over at SportsLine.
Will the Rockets suffer a prolonged hangover from the Thursday debacle, or will they win their fifth straight on Washington's floor and cover the spread? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of Rockets-Wizards you need to be all over, all from an expert who's 20-12 on Rockets' games, and find out.
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