In this battle of a couple of hot teams, we will side with the underdog Rockets out of the much stronger Western Conference getting this many points.
Houston lost in overtime at Minnesota yesterday, but that snapped a five-game winning streak for the Rockets, and the fact that it was an afternoon should neutralize the effect of playing back-to-back days. Yes the Rockets are still without Yao Ming, but the Rockets caught fire with the return of Tracy McGrady, who had now scored 30 points or more in seven straight games.
Now granted the Bulls have been one of the better home teams in the league at 15-3, but much of that success has obviously come against the much weaker Eastern Conference. The Rockets have not been intimidated at all playing in this building, winning the last three meetings here outright. Also the last three match-ups overall have been decided by 1, 1 and 5 points respectively, which makes this rather large spot that much more attractive.
