Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers odds, picks and predictions

Kevin Erickson | Staff Writer

The Houston Rockets (6-4) play the Los Angeles Lakers (7-6) Sunday at Crypto.com Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the Rockets vs. Lakers odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.

Season series: Rockets lead 1-0 after 128-94 home win Nov. 8

The Rockets suffered a 106-100 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday to snap a 6-game winning streak, but they improved to 6-0-1 against the spread (ATS) in the past 7 outings. The Under has cashed in each of the past 4 outings.

The Lakers posted a 107-95 win against the Portland Trail Blazers on the road Friday, improving to 3-0 straight up in the in-season tournament. L.A. has alternated covers and non-covers in each of the past 10 games overall, with the Under hitting in the past 2 contests.

Rockets at Lakers odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:10 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Rockets +180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Lakers -225 (bet $225 to win $100)
Against the spread (ATS): Rockets +5.5 (-110) | Lakers -5.5 (-110)
Over/Under (O/U): 220.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)

Rockets at Lakers key injuries

Rockets

G Victor Oladipo (knee) out
G Amen Thompson (ankle) out

Lakers

C Anthony Davis (adductor) probable
F LeBron James (calf) questionable
F Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) out
G Gabe Vincent (knee) out

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

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Rockets at Lakers picks and predictions

Prediction

Lakers 109, Rockets 105

Moneyline

The Lakers (-225) will cost you nearly 2½ times your potential return, and that's quite a bit of risk and not enough reward. The Rockets (+180) have already scored a lopsided 28-point victory against the Lakers this month. If anything, it's worth rolling the dice on the underdogs.

PASS.

Against the spread

The red-hot ROCKETS +5.5 (-110) are catching almost 3 buckets from the Lakers -5.5 (-110). Houston has rolled up an impressive 6-0-1 ATS mark in the past 7 contests, including a cover in this building on Friday against the Clippers.

The Lakers have alternated covers and non-covers in the past 10 games, and Los Angeles cashed last time out. The pattern is rather circumstantial and nothing to base your bet around. However, betting against a team which hasn't had a non-cover in weeks isn't the way to go.

Over/Under

UNDER 220.5 (-115) is the lean in La La Land.

The Under has cashed in the past 2 games for the Lakers, and the total went low in the 1st head-to-head matchup between these teams.

The Under has cashed in 4 straight games for the Rockets, while going 7-3 in 10 games overall.

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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