The Houston Rockets (17-16) will wrap up a seven-game homestand when they face the Milwaukee Bucks (25-10) on Saturday night. Houston won back-to-back games over Detroit and Brooklyn before losing to Minnesota in a 122-95 blowout on Friday. Milwaukee snapped its two-game losing streak with a 125-121 win at San Antonio on Thursday. The Bucks are in second place in the Eastern Conference standings and are 4.5 games ahead of Indiana for first place in the Central Division.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Toyota Center. Milwaukee is favored by 7 points in the latest Rockets vs. Bucks odds, while the over/under is set at 237.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Bucks vs. Rockets picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model entered Week 11 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 106-59 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning well over $4,000. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Milwaukee-Houston. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:
Rockets vs. Bucks spread: Bucks -7
Rockets vs. Bucks over/under: 237.5 points
Rockets vs. Bucks money line: Rockets +215, Bucks -263
Rockets vs. Bucks picks: See picks here
Why the Rockets can cover
Houston lost six of its final eight games in December, but it bounced back with wins over Detroit and Brooklyn earlier this week. The Rockets cruised to a 136-113 win over the Pistons, who were playing their first game since snapping a 28-game losing skid. Center Alperen Sengun led Houston with 26 points and nine assists, upping his season averages to 21.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
The Rockets added a 112-101 win over Brooklyn on Wednesday, covering the 5-point spread. Sengun poured in a game-high 30 points, while point guard Fred VanVleet posted a double-double with 21 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Houston has covered the spread in four of its last five home games against Milwaukee, which has only covered three times in its last nine games.
Why the Bucks can cover
Milwaukee bounced back from a pair of losses to Indiana with a 125-121 win at San Antonio on Thursday, as Giannis Antetokounmpo won a showdown with Victor Wembanyama. Antetokounmpo had 44 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, shooting 19 of 28 from the floor. Veteran point guard Damian Lillard added 25 points, 10 assists and four rebounds.
The Rockets committed 15 turnovers and finished minus-14 on the glass in their blowout loss to Minnesota on Friday. Milwaukee has already won one game between these teams this season, notching a 128-119 victory on Dec. 17. The Bucks have won five consecutive games against teams from the Western Conference, while Houston has only covered the spread once in its last seven games against Central Division opponents. See which team to pick here.
How to make Rockets vs. Bucks picks
The model has simulated Bucks vs. Rockets 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.