Houston @ Portland

Current Records: Houston 16-52; Portland 39-29

The Houston Rockets need to shore up a defense that is allowing 116.16 points per game before their contest on Monday. Their road trip will continue as they head to Moda Center at the Rose Quarter at 10 p.m. ET to face off against the Portland Trail Blazers. They will be strutting in after a victory while Houston will be stumbling in from a loss.

The Rockets came up short against the Utah Jazz this past Saturday, falling 124-116. Despite the defeat, Houston had strong showings from shooting guard Khyri Thomas, who had 27 points along with five steals and five boards, and small forward Kenyon Martin Jr., who dropped a double-double on 27 points and ten rebounds.

A well-balanced attack led Rip City over the San Antonio Spurs every single quarter on their way to victory this past Saturday. The Trail Blazers made easy work of San Antonio and carried off a 124-102 win. Portland's point guard Damian Lillard did his thing and had 30 points and eight assists. Dame's night made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least 30 points.

Houston have to know they'll be fighting an uphill battle given the 15 point spread they are up against. They are currently two-for-two against the spread in their most recent games, however, a trend bettors might want to take into account.

The Rockets came out on top in a nail-biter against the Trail Blazers in the teams' previous meeting in January, sneaking past 104-101. The rematch might be a little tougher for Houston since the squad won't have home-court advantage. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.

The Trail Blazers are a big 15-point favorite against the Rockets, according to the latest NBA odds.

The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Trail Blazers as an 11.5-point favorite.

Over/Under: -110

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Houston have won 11 out of their last 20 games against Portland.