Thunder-Rockets To Blast Off In Game 7 Wednesday NBACast

By Bill Speros

Mar 14th, 2024 7:22 AM EDT

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The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder will meet one final time Wednesday night inside the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The winner of this Game 7 will move on to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the next round. The loser returns to reality.

Chris Paul and the Thunder scowled their way to force this Game 7 with a grueling 104-100 win over the Rockets Monday. Paul delivered 15 of his team-high 28 points in the final 12 minutes and managed to drop a death-stare on James Harden while both stood side-by-side during a late-game set of free throws. The other seven-game Western Conference first round series generated an intense-but-respectful rivalry between Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell. The Nuggets advanced in seven games. Paul and Harden share no such affections.

Oddsmakers have installed the Rockets at 5.5-point Game 7 Wednesday favorites in the morning throughout the legal online gambling space. The Rockets are -217 at DraftKings on the morning money line, while bettors will earn +195 at bet365 if the Thunder roll. The over/under is 215.5 at Resorts. You can get complete Rockets-Thunder Game 7 Wednesday odds here.

NBA betting experts and wanna-bes can second-screen the action and analysis in real time on the Bookies.com-sponsored #NBACast, hosted by NBA experts Nate Duncan and Danny Leroux. The #NBACast offers live, in-game, up-to-the second trends, break-out exclusive stats and — as always — both Duncan and Leroux will take your in-game questions. Play begins at approximately 9:10 p.m. Eastern. The game will also air on ESPN as the back end of a doubleheader. The first game of the evening features the Milwaukee Bucks (-5) and the Miami Heat. It begins at 6:40.

Fans can follow the Rockets-Thunder #NBACast on YouTube, via Twitch or on Twitter/Periscope at @NateDuncanNBA.

CP3, James Harden Face Legacy Outcomes

Paul has done much to torment his former team in this series. (He was dealt to OKC last summer as part of the Russell Westbrook trade.) The Thunder were +20 with Paul on the floor in Game 6. He scored eight points in the final five minutes of Game 4 – including back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the score – in a 117-114 Thunder victory.

Paul has also emerged as a leader in the NBA off the court. He has been president of the National Basketball Players Association for nearly seven years and was a pivotal figure in negotiating terms for the post-COVID-19 return to play in July and in the resumption of play last week after a league-wide shutdown following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

Harden, meanwhile, is the most prolific offensive player in the NBA. He’s averaged 31.8 points and 7.8 assists in the six games against OKC in this series. He shares the same "clutch" characteristics of Paul – but only to a point. In Game 6, he put the Rockets up by six with 4:19 left after nailing a 3-pointer and a technical free-throw. You guessed it, the technical was called on Paul. Harden has a nasty tendency to fade away when the pressure is at its peak. He did the same Monday as the Rockets were outscored 12-2 to end it.

Prop & Futures Bets For Rockets, Thunder

Prop players will have a big hill to climb on Harden, with his Game 7 total of 34.5 points at DraftKings. Paul is a bit more manageable at 22.5. Westbrook’s points total is 21.5.

Both teams are looking up at the Clippers and Lakers in the West among oddsmakers in NBA futures betting markets. The Rockets are +950 to win the Western Conference at WilliamHill. The Thunder are +5000 to win at the same book. WilliamHill has the Rockets at +1800 to win the NBA Championship, while the Thunder are a lofty +10000.

RELATED: Check out our NBA expert picks for Wednesday action and bookmark the page for our free NBA picks every day of the playoffs.

About the Author

Bill Speros

More About Bill

Bill is an award-winning journalist and editor whose career includes stops at USA Today Sports Network / Golfweek, Cox Media, ESPN, Orlando Sentinel and Denver Post. He's been covering the North American regulated gambling market for almost a decade and has his finger on the pulse for all industry news involving sportsbooks, online casinos, prediction markets and more. Bill placed his first bet at age 11, and his first job was as a paper boy delivering the Boston Herald and Boston Globe. By age 16, he was playing blackjack and getting comped drinks on the Las Vegas Strip. When home, his weekend rotation included trips to Wonderland Greyhound Park and Raynham Greyhound Park.

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