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4/13 Tampa Bay (Price +110) over BOSTON (Beckett) 4/13 ST. LOUIS (Wainwright -180) over Chicago Cubs (Samardzija) 4/13 SAN FRANCISCO (Cain -170) over Pittsburgh (McDonald) 4/13 Milwaukee (Wolf +115) over ATLANTA (Jurrjens)
100* Play Miami (-200) over Houston (MLB TOP PLAY)
Starts at 7:00 PM EST
Houston has lost 40 of the last 59 games coming off three or more home games and they have also lost 57 of the last 81 road games as an underdog of +100 or higher. Houston has lost 92 of the last 142 games when the total posted is between 7 and 8.5 runs and they have also lost 39 of the last 53 games when playing on a Friday.
50* Play St. Louis (-190) over Chicago Cubs (MBL BONUS PLAY)
50* Play Toronto (-185) over Baltimore (MLB BONUS PLAY)
In a game that could go a long way toward determining a couple of playoff participants in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets (32-26, 31-27 ATS) have a chance to deal a potential death blow to the Phoenix Suns (30-28, 31-27 ATS) while at the same time strengthening the Rockets' own playoff hold when the two clubs meet Friday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX at 8:00 ET in a game televised by ESPN. Houston currently holds the eighth and final playoff position in the West, and it has a two-game lead over tenth-place Phoenix with eight games remaining for both teams. The Utah Jazz split these clubs in ninth place. 1 games behind Houston.
The Rockets are coming off of a 103-91 home loss to the Jazz on Wednesday, blowing a chance to gain some separation from their pursuers at home as six-point favorites. That snapped a four-game winning streak by Houston with all four of those wins coming on the road. It was expected that put Houston in the driver's seat returning home, where they were 20-8 straight up entering Wednesday's battle, so that loss has to be a bit disappointing. The good news for the Rockets is that they did get 15 points off the bench from Kyle Lowry in his best game since returning three games ago after missing nearly a month with a bacterial infection. It remains to be seen if he will get his starting job back soon, not that there is any rush as Goran Dragic has filled in well in his absence. Houston's other normal starting guard Kevin Martin remains out with a tear in his shoulder, but the Rockets have not missed him all that much either with Courtney Lee also playing well in his place. At least having Lowry coming off the bench allows both Dragic and Lee to get some rest periodically after playing extended minutes over the past month.
The Suns failed to pick up ground Wednesday as they lost 104-93 to the Memphis Grizzlies in the second game of this four-game road trip, a road trip that began with a 24-point win at Minnesota on Monday. This is undoubtedly the biggest game of the year for Phoenix, as a loss would knock the Suns three games out of a playoff spot with seven games remaining, and if they are going to win this game they need to tighten things up considerably on the defensive end. After showing some improvement defensively during its March playoff push, Phoenix has resorted to old bad habits recently by allowing 101.8 points per game over the last five contests, allowing 104 points or more in four of those games with the outlier being allowing 90 points to the Timberwolves, whose offense has struggled since Ricky Rubio went down.
The Rockets are 2-1 both straight up and against the spread in the three head-to-head meetings between these clubs this season, with the Rockets winning the first meeting at home and the second meeting in Phoenix before the Suns avenged that home loss by breaking trough for a 99-86 home win in the last meeting on March 18th. The Suns have actually dominated this series from a betting perspective, going an amazing 23-8 ATS in the last 31 meetings. However, the Rockets are also 21-8 ATS in their last 29 games vs. the Pacific Division.
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