Houston at Utah

The first five games in this series have averaged 82.4 points per game. Not a single one of the first five games has reached this number in the first half. The oddsmakers have barely adjusted as all five first-half totals have been set in the 89-91.5 range. We look for more of the same here. These are both low-scoring teams and teams committed to defense, especially in the first half. The playoff atmosphere has only intensified their tendencies. Houston is 48-38 UNDER in the first half this season including 20-10 UNDER when coming of a double-digit win. When they are not turning the ball over, it's even better. When they have committed under 15 turnovers per game for three straight games, they are an incredible 19-4 UNDER in the first half the next game! Utah the past two seasons is 51-35 UNDER in the first half after an UNDER and 27-15 UNDER after two straight UNDERs. The Jazz are 40-20 in their last 60 games revenging an embarrassing 20+ point loss. They are 15-2 UNDER in the first half the last 17 times in close-out games. Everything here points to another low-scoring game and we'll take the first-half UNDER.