3rd Quarter Report
The Rockets and the Cavaliers have shown up to the game, but their offenses sure haven’t. The Rockets have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead the Cavaliers 94-83.
If the Rockets keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 29-14 in no time. On the other hand, the Cavaliers will have to make due with a 36-7 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Houston Rockets
Current Records: Cleveland 36-6, Houston 28-14
How To Watch
- When: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Toyota Center — Houston, Texas
- TV: FanDuel SN – Ohio
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $3.51
What to Know
The Cleveland Cavaliers are taking a road trip to face off against the Houston Rockets at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Toyota Center. The Rockets have the home-court advantage, but the Cavaliers are expected to win by 2.5 points.
The Cavaliers are headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week’s over/under low at 238, but even that wound up being too high. Everything went their way against the Suns on Monday as the Cavaliers made off with a 118-92 win. For those keeping track at home, that’s the biggest victory Cleveland has posted since December 21, 2024.
The Cavaliers can attribute much of their success to Donovan Mitchell, who earned 33 points along with five assists and five rebounds. What’s more, Mitchell also racked up three offensive rebounds, the most he’s had since back in February of 2024.
The Cavaliers smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. They are a perfect 7-0 when they hit their own glass that hard.
Meanwhile, the Rockets’ game on Monday was all tied up 57-57 at the half, but sadly for them it didn’t stay that way. They fell 107-96 to the Pistons. Houston didn’t live up to their potential and found themselves falling short of the advantage oddsmakers thought they had coming into the game.
Cleveland has been performing incredibly well recently as they’ve won 15 of their last 17 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 36-6 record this season. As for Houston, their loss dropped their record down to 28-14.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: The Cavaliers have been crazy accurate this season, having made 49.8% of their field goals per game (they’re ranked second in field goal percentage overall). It’s a different story for the Rockets, though, as they’ve only made 44.8% of theirs this season. Given the Cavaliers’ sizable advantage in that area, the Rockets will need to find a way to close that gap.
The Cavaliers ended up a good deal behind the Rockets in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, losing 117-103. Can the Cavaliers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Cleveland is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Houston, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 2.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 231.5 points.
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Series History
Cleveland has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Houston.
- Mar 16, 2024 – Houston 117 vs. Cleveland 103
- Dec 18, 2023 – Cleveland 135 vs. Houston 130
- Mar 26, 2023 – Cleveland 108 vs. Houston 91
- Jan 26, 2023 – Cleveland 113 vs. Houston 95
- Feb 02, 2022 – Houston 115 vs. Cleveland 104
- Dec 15, 2021 – Cleveland 124 vs. Houston 89
- Mar 01, 2021 – Cleveland 101 vs. Houston 90
- Feb 24, 2021 – Cleveland 112 vs. Houston 96
- Dec 11, 2019 – Houston 116 vs. Cleveland 110
- Jan 11, 2019 – Houston 141 vs. Cleveland 113
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