Mavericks vs. Rockets Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for December 29 (Doncic Dominates Houston Yet Again)

Mavericks vs. Rockets Game Info

• Date: Thursday, December 29, 2022
• Time: 8:30 PM ET
• Venue: American Airlines Center -- Dallas, Texas
• Coverage: BSSW and SportsNet SW

The NBA has six matchups planned for Thursday, Dec. 29, including a Southwest Division clash between the Dallas Mavericks (19-16) and Houston Rockets (10-24).

The Rockets last competed on Tuesday, losing 126-102 to the Boston Celtics to mark the former's sixth loss in the last seven games. On the flip side, the Mavericks won their fourth consecutive game two nights ago — a 126-121 overtime win over the New York Knicks — led by Luka Doncic's historic triple-double (60 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists).

Can the Rockets win for just the fifth time on the road this season? Or will the Mavericks find a way to capitalize on Doncic's legendary night?

Mavericks vs. Rockets Odds & Spread

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: HOU: (+380) | DAL: (-490)
• Spread: HOU: +10 (-110) | DAL: -10 (-110)
• Total: 225.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Mavericks enter this contest as clear home favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 8:30 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 225.5 points, which is the second-lowest of Thursday's totals.

Mavericks vs Rockets Betting Information

Favorite	Spread	Favorite Spread Odds	Underdog Spread Odds	Total	Over Total Odds	Under Total Odds	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline
Mavericks	-11	-	-	222.5	-110	-110	-550	410

Mavericks vs. Rockets Betting Trends

• The Mavericks have put together a 13-21-1 record against the spread this season.
• The Rockets have been underdogs by 11 points or more seven times this season and covered the spread once.
• Games involving the Mavericks have hit the over 20 times out of 33 chances this season.
• The Rockets have gone over the point total 48.5% of the time this season (16 of 33 games with a set point total).
• Dallas has covered the spread in a lower percentage of its home games than road games. It has covered seven times in 19 games at home, and it has covered six times in 16 games when playing on the road.
• This season, Houston is 7-7-1 at home against the spread (.467 winning percentage). On the road, it is 7-10-1 ATS (.389).

Mavericks vs. Rockets Prediction & Pick

This is the third meeting of the year between the Mavs and Rockets after the two sides split the first pair of games. Keeping that in mind, it was the Mavericks who won the last meeting, 112-106, less than a week ago, so it can be argued that momentum is on their side.

The Mavericks are also 5-1 straight up in their last six games against the Rockets, boasting a plus-10.5 scoring margin in that span. What's even more impressive is that Dallas has held Houston to a 101.7 PPG clip in those games.

The Rockets have also been horrid on the road, averaging just 109.6 points (seventh-worst) with 17.3 turnovers (second-most). I expect more of the same struggles tonight. After all, on top of shutting the Rockets' offense down lately, the Mavericks also force turnovers on 14.8% of offensive plays at home (10th-best).

With Doncic still buzzing from his latest highlight-filled performance, expect the Mavericks to pick up their 20th win of the season.

Final Score Prediction: Mavericks: 114 | Rockets: 106

Mavericks vs. Rockets Best Bet

There hasn't been a more exciting player to watch over the last few weeks than Doncic. The 23-year-old superstar is averaging 35.6 points on 51.5% shooting over his last nine games and now carries a projected point total of 32.5 tonight.

With divisional games bringing out the best in top players, I predict that Doncic will go over that total. After all, it was only on Dec. 23 when he dropped 50 points against the Rockets. Furthermore, he's gone over 32.5 points in five of his last nine games, even coming close to surpassing it twice more with 30- and 32-point performances mixed in over that stretch.

After a performance for the ages two nights ago, expect another explosive showing for Slovenia's greatest export.

Bet: Luka Doncic — Points: Over 32.5 (-115)

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.