Who’s Playing
Houston Rockets @ Los Angeles Lakers
Current Records: Houston 8-8, Los Angeles 11-9
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 10:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Crypto.com Arena — Los Angeles, California
- TV: Space City Home Network
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Fubo (Try for free) For a limited time, new subscribers can save $20 on Fubo’s Pro, Elite, and Premier plans
- Ticket Cost: $115.00
What to Know
The Lakers have been on the road for four straight, but on Saturday they’ll finally head home. They will take on the Houston Rockets at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Last Thursday, things couldn’t have gone much worse for Los Angeles as they lost 133-110 to Oklahoma City. The Lakers got off to an early lead (up 14 with 2:21 left in the first quarter), but sadly they weren’t able to maintain that momentum.
The Lakers’ defeat came about despite a quality game from Anthony Davis, who dropped a double-double on 31 points and 14 rebounds. Davis is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he’s now pulled down ten or more in the last eight games he’s played.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to win when you don’t work as a unit and post ten fewer assists than your opponent, a fact the Rockets found out the hard way on Wednesday. They fell 134-124 to Denver. The Rockets have now taken an ‘L’ in back-to-back games.
Jalen Green put forth a good effort for the losing side as he scored 26 points along with 9 assists and 6 rebounds. Less helpful for the Rockets was Aaron Holiday’s abysmal 0-5 three-point shooting.
Los Angeles’ loss was their fifth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 11-9. Those losses could be blamed on the team’s lackluster offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 107.2 points per game. As for Houston, their loss dropped their record down to 8-8.
Not only did the Lakers and the Rockets lose their last games, but neither team managed to cover the spread. Going forward, the Lakers are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by five points. Those brave souls putting their money on they against the spread have faith in an upset since their 8-12 ATS can’t hold a candle to Houston’s 10-4-2.
The Lakers barely slipped by the Rockets in their previous matchup two weeks ago, winning 105-104. Will the Lakers repeat their success, or do the Rockets have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Los Angeles is a 5-point favorite against Houston, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is set at 222 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Los Angeles has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Houston.
- Nov 19, 2023 – Los Angeles 105 vs. Houston 104
- Nov 08, 2023 – Houston 128 vs. Los Angeles 94
- Apr 02, 2023 – Los Angeles 134 vs. Houston 109
- Mar 15, 2023 – Houston 114 vs. Los Angeles 110
- Jan 16, 2023 – Los Angeles 140 vs. Houston 132
- Mar 09, 2022 – Houston 139 vs. Los Angeles 130
- Dec 28, 2021 – Los Angeles 132 vs. Houston 123
- Nov 02, 2021 – Los Angeles 119 vs. Houston 117
- Oct 31, 2021 – Los Angeles 95 vs. Houston 85
- May 12, 2021 – Los Angeles 124 vs. Houston 122
KVSP