Houston at Los Angeles

The Houston Rockets really stepped up last game in the absence of Yao Ming, who will miss the rest of the playoffs. The effort on the defensive end was instrumental in their rather easy and surprising win at home over the Lakers. Los Angeles, for all the offense they possess, has turned the corner defensively, having played 22 of their last 33 games to the UNDER, including five of their last seven playoff games. Last game they didn't play good defense and they have heard about it from their family, friends, media and fans over the past couple of days. That was an embarrassing performance and you can bet they are going to be much more inspired on that end of the floor in this game, especially out of the gate. The Lakers have met a lot of opposition against the Rockets, especially early. Without Yao, the Houston defensive effort seems to be even more focused. The team showed that they know they all need to step up. The Lakers have managed to score almost 30 points per game in the fourth quarter as they wear down the Rockets. But the first half has been very defensive with just one game reaching the century mark of the four played. Even the last two regular-season games the Lakers managed just 44 and 40 first-half points, making their six-gamefirst-half average just 44 points per game against the Rockets. Over the past two seasons, the Lakers are a near-perfect 10-1 UNDER in the first half when the line is set between 98 and 101. They are also 19-7 UNDER in the first-half at home coming off a road loss. Houston, whose signature is defense, has played 101 of their last 156 games vs. teams at .700+ to the UNDER in the first-half. They are 20-9 UNDER in their last 29 games this season vs. teams that allow 100+ ppg. Both teams are motivated to play tough defense early on here (for different reasons). I like the UNDER in the first-half.