Warriors vs. Rockets Betting Odds: Golden State Favored Over Houston In Game 6, Series

Despite all the talk of blowouts in the 2018 NBA Playoffs, we could be headed for two Game 7s in the conference finals. Not only are the Cleveland Cavaliers favored to beat the Boston Celtics and even up their series at 3-3, but the Golden State Warriors are heavy favorites over the Houston Rockets in Game 6 Saturday night.

Falling behind Houston 3-2 after dropping Game 6, Golden State is expected to take care of business at home. The betting line is 10.5 points, according to OddsShark, and the Game 6 over/under is 213.5.

Chris Paul’s injury could derail Houston’s attempt at completing the upset. The point guard suffered a hamstring injury at the end of Thursday’s 98-94 victory. He was in good spirits after the game, but his status for both Game 6 and a potential Game 7 are unknown.

Depending on the severity of Paul’s injury, it might make sense for the Rockets to rest Paul in Game 6 and make sure he’s as healthy as can be for a winner-take-all Game 7. It’d be hard to imagine Houston defeating Golden State without both of their star players. Paul was essential to the Rockets’ success in Game 5, considering James Harden went 0-11 from three-point range.

Golden State is still favored to win the series with -130 odds. The Rockets are barely underdogs at +110.

This is new territory for this iteration of the Warriors. Golden State lost just one playoff game in Kevin Durant’s first season with the team, and they only needed five games in both the first and second round of this year’s postseason. The Warriors haven’t played a Game 6 since the 2016 NBA Finals.

The Warriors faced the same deficit in the 2016 Western Conference Finals. They actually came back from 3-1 down against the Oklahoma City Thunder—who then had Durant—in their record-setting 73-win season. Golden State had home-court advantage, forcing them to win a pivotal Game 6 on the road before punching their ticket to the NBA Finals at home.

Houston has shown that they can win big games at Oracle Arena. They mounted a 12-point fourth-quarter comeback in Game 4, becoming the first road team to defeat Golden State in a home playoff game with Durant on the roster.

The Rockets have held the Warriors to 94 points or fewer in their two consecutive wins. Golden State had scored fewer than 99 points once in their last 29 postseason games.