The Houston Rockets will travel to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to take on the Indiana Pacers. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Mar. 23 and will air on ROOT-SW, FSN-IN and NBA TV.
The Pacers were beaten by the Nets 123-111 on Saturday. George Hill was the team’s high scorer, finishing with 18. The Rockets, meanwhile, are coming off a 117-102 loss to the Suns on Saturday. Trevor Ariza had a solid game, recording his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Hill has been playing at a high level as of late for the Pacers, averaging 21.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers over the last five games.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Rockets won the first game 110-98. James Harden was the game’s leading scorer with 45 points.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Pacers look to improve upon their records of 30-39 Straight Up (SU) and 36-31-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 8-18 SU and 13-12-1 ATS against teams from the Western Conference. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Pacers, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .435.
On the other side, Houston has a SU record of 46-23 and an ATS record of 40-29. Houston has a record of 20-6 SU and 16-10 ATS against the East. Houston’s three-point defense has set the standard for the league, with opponents shooting a league-low .316 from the three. Houston makes opponents pay for turning the ball over, ranking third in points off turnovers with an average of 19.1 per game.
Following the Rockets’ latest win over Indiana, Houston is still behind in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, 4-6 SU. Additionally, the Pacers lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. Indiana topped the Rockets in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) twice over the last 10. Houston has never had the edge in all categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – HOU, ATS Winner – HOU
Notes
Houston averages 103.3 points per game (ranked eighth). However, Indiana has allowed an average of just 96.8 points per game (ranked third).
On average, Indiana allows 95.8 points per home game. Houston averages 104.7 points per away game, ranking the team fourth in scoring.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Houston Rockets are a fantastic 31-3. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Indiana Pacers have a poor record of 11-32.
Houston is 15-20 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Pacers have a winning 19-7 record when hitting triple digits.
The Rockets have an offensive rating of 103.2 (ranked 14th), while the Pacers rank eighth for their defensive rating of 100.5.
The Houston Rockets average a field goal percentage of 43.9% this season. The Indiana Pacers have a losing record of 9-22 when opponents have a FG% of 43.9% or greater.
The Houston Rockets rank lower for their field goal percentage (22nd) than their effective field goal percentage (seventh), while the Indiana Pacers rank the same for both metrics (23rd).
Indiana makes an average of 21.4 assists per game (ranked 17th). Houston ranks higher in assists with 22.2 (ranked ninth).
Indiana makes an average of 4.5 blocks per game (ranked 19th). Houston ranks higher in blocks with 4.7 (ranked 12th).
The Indiana Pacers rank 22nd in offensive rebounding, while the Houston Rockets rank 21st in defensive rebounding.
The Houston Rockets average 9.5 steals per game (ranked third). The Indiana Pacers have a subpar 9-15 record when they allow at least 9 steals.
