Two of the top three teams in the Western Conference lock horns on Wednesday night to highlight a busy 11-game schedule in the NBA. League No. 2 Houston Rockets look to sustain their scorching run as they travel to the Pepsi Center in Denver and face the in-pursuit Nuggets.

The visiting Rockets are currently the hottest team in the NBA as they sit on an eight-game winning streak. James Harden is expected to tow the Texas-based squad anew and avert the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets from stopping their blitzing stretch.

The 2018 MVP has been going en fuego offensively for the Rockets, averaging 39.2 points while hitting close to five triples and close to 13 free throws per night, on top of 5.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists. Russell Westbrook continues to be a factor too despite having his numbers reduced. Also a former MVP, the 31-year old Westbrook remains to be a stat-sheet stuffer with 21.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.

The hosts, meanwhile, will bank on team effort to extend their own winning run to three. Five players are averaging in double figures for the team led by Jamal Murray with 19.2 markers per assignment. The Nuggets are at the top of the Northwest Division with a 9-3 league record which also puts them at the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference, just two wins behind the Rockets.

Odds:

The Denver Nuggets are two-point favorites ahead of the match while the total line is placed at 223. The Rockets are rather squared record-wise on beating the spread, tallying eight wins against six while the Nuggets have only won four times ATS in their first 12 games of the season. Interestingly, the Under selection has prevailed in the Rockets’ matches, winning at a 64 percent rate despite leading the league in total points. Denver’s got a higher percentage on the Under selection with a 75 percent winning rate. This is not surprising given that the Nuggets are No. 22 in the NBA in total points put up per outing.

Prediction:

Houston will make it nine in a row. Back them straight up and ATS. Denver is not fond of getting buckets as of late, and as Michael Malone and his boys are in the top 10 in defensive rating, expect Harden and Westbrook to be handled by their stoppers. Total points will go Under the market line.

Houston Rockets star James Harden apologised on Monday over the comments from the team's general manager supporting Hong Kong's democracy protests
Houston Rockets star James Harden apologised on Monday over the comments from the team's general manager supporting Hong Kong's democracy protests AFP / Kazuhiro NOGI
NBA