Warriors vs. Rockets: Matchup Will Fall Short of Predicted Points Total

The Houston Rockets (25-22) opened up their four-game homestand with a 107-104 come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Lakers as three-point underdogs. They will host now another Western Conference rival on Thursday night inside the Toyota Center.

Las Vegas oddsmakers have established the Rockets as 7.5-point favorites against the Golden State Warriors (19-25), while the total has held steady at 197.

Houston will likely be without the services of starting guards Kyle Lowry (illness) and Kevin Martin (shoulder), which places more pressure on Slovenian guard Goran Dragic to continue to perform at a high level.

He is averaging 8.8 points and 4.3 assists per game during the 2011-12 campaign, but his scoring numbers have gone up, totaling 112 points over the last seven games in Lowry's absence.

The Rockets are 17-6 at home this season and have tallied a solid 10-5 mark versus Western opponents.

Sports bettors will find that tonight's host is 5-1 against the spread as a home favorite of 6.5 to nine points this season, while the "under" has cashed in on four of those six contests in that situation.

Golden State has injury concerns of its own and will be playing without starting point guard Stephen Curry (ankle), who is being replaced by former reserve Nate Robinson.

The Warriors feature a new backcourt these days due to the trade of Monta Ellis to Milwaukee, but rookie Klay Thompson has helped fill the void, averaging 20.0 points in six games since the transaction.

Thompson will look to end the team's six-game losing streak in Houston, but the franchise tallied a 106-97 win in the season's first meeting this year as 1.5-point home favorites.

Total players will find that 85 points from that earlier contest will not be on the floor tonight due to the injuries and trades that have been mentioned in this article.

The Rockets have gone "under" the total in 10 of their last 14 games as a home favorite of 5.0 to 10.5 points, while the Warriors have stayed below the number in seven of nine contests as a road underdog.

Pick: Under 197