Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets Game 2: Prediction Against The Spread, Harden-Durant Preview

The Houston Rockets came up just short in their series opener with the Golden State Warriors, losing 104-100 at Oracle Arena Sunday afternoon. James Harden and Co. will get a chance at stealing home-court advantage, once again, Tuesday night in Game 2

Much of the talk after Game 1 was about the officiating and the perceived lack of foul calls that favored the Warriors. Maybe Harden should have gotten to the line a few more times than he did, but the reigning NBA MVP simply has to play better.

Harden scored 35 points, though he missed 19 of his 28 field goal attempts. Harden missed 12 of his 16 three-pointers. That's not going to cut it on the road against the back-to-back defending champs, especially as Kevin Durant continues to make a compelling argument that he's the best basketball player in the world.

Durant scored 35 points on 11-25 shooting. He’s scored at least 33 points in five straight games while averaging 43.3 points per game over his last three contests.

Harden finds himself in a shooting slump. He's hitting 36.4 percent of his shots in the postseason, and the guard has gone 30-93 in his last four games.

If Harden had hit just a couple of more shots, Houston would have been able to pull off the Game 1 upset. Golden State has proven to be vulnerable this year with a seeming lack of focus on the defensive end. It might be something the Rockets can exploit in the next game

The Warriors have been terrific this season when their backs have been against the wall. They dominated the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3 of the first round when the series was tied. Golden State did the same in the Game 6 clincher when L.A. was trying to force a deciding Game 7.

With a 1-0 series lead over Houston, Golden State certainly doesn't need to win Game 2. Maybe the Warriors will be focused for 48 minutes since the Rockets pose such a threat to their hopes of completing a three-peat. There’s also a chance that the Golden State team that's already lost two home playoff games in 2019 will show up again Tuesday night.

Game 2 should be another close one, no matter who comes out on top. The Warriors are favored by 5.5 points, according to the betting line at OddsShark. The total is 218.5.

Golden State knows they can't let up against a Houston team that nearly beat them in last year's Western Conference Finals. Harden is not the same shooter in the postseason, and the ability of Durant and Stephen Curry to make big shots down the stretch should be enough to give the Warriors a 2-0 series edge.

Prediction against the spread: Golden State over Houston, 109-107