Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 06/09/2020, 10:14  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 06/09/2020 at 11:15 in Basketball Predictions

Houston Rockets are proving to be the surprise side in the NBA Play-offs. They go into the second match of this Western Conference semi-final against the LA Lakers, with a 1-0 lead. The Rockets had to go all the way to the last match before securing a 4-3 win over Oklahoma City Thunders after giving away 2-0 and 3-2 leads. They finally got the better of Oklahoma and then took the first match of this best-of-seven semi-final against the Lakers 112-97. The Rockets were six points clear with the final quarter to come but won that convincingly to take a surprise 1-0 lead. They had in-form James Harden to thank for the win as he scored 36 points. That's three wins and three defeats in their last six matches, so consistently avoiding defeat isn't part of their armoury.

The LA Lakers are the top seeds in the Western Conference, compared to the fourth position of the Rockets. They won 52 games in the regular season and then had little trouble getting past the Portland Trail Blazers 4-1 in the first round of the play-offs. They also lost the first match of that series and then stormed back with four straight wins. The chances of them repeating that are still good and they know, this is a vital game for them. Going two down wouldn't be a great position for them to find themselves in. Go for the Lakers to bounce back with a victory in this match to level the series at 1-1.