Rockets vs Clippers Free Pick, NBA Free Picks, NBA Predictions 12/23/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- Dec 23, 2025
- 3 min read
HOUSTON @ LA CLIPPERS (HOU -7.5, 219.5)
NBA ODDS, NBA PREDICTIONS, NBA PREVIEWS
ROCKETS @ CLIPPERS 12/22/25
The Los Angeles Clippers hope to maintain the momentum from their best win of the season when they play the Houston Rockets tonight in Inglewood, California. The Clippers defeated the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 103-88 on Saturday to end a five-game losing streak. The Clippers were led by 32 points from Kawhi Leonard and 21 from James Harden.
The Clippers, who won for the first time since December 3, led by as many as 22 points and the victory was only their seventh in 28 games. Houston has lost four of its previous six games, including a 125-124 overtime setback at Sacramento on Sunday.
The effort against the Lakers gave Clippers coach Tyronn Lue hope, even though he knows his team has a long road ahead of them to qualify for the playoffs.
Lue stated, "We've got to start at one," "On Saturday, we informed our guys of that. We came out with the appropriate intent, in my opinion. As I mentioned, I believed we should have been up 20 to 25 at halftime, but we were up 15. We simply did not go through the tape during that second half. We need to improve on that. However, it is a major victory for us.
With 10 assists in Saturday's victory, Harden recorded his ninth double-double of the season. After the Clippers ended an eight-game losing streak at home, he expressed relief.
"Like these last five, six games, I think we've been playing well, just haven't put it together for a full four quarters," Harden stated. "So, Saturday was really simply a way for us to get the monkey off our back. All we need to do now is see a movie and determine how we can improve."
Ivica Zubac, a center for the Clippers, will be sidelined for at least three weeks after suffering a Grade 2 left ankle injury during the game. Forward John Collins, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Lakers, will play a bigger role as a result of Zubac's absence.
On December 11, the Clippers lost to Houston 115-113 on the road, with Zubac scoring a game-high 33 points. With the loss to Sacramento, the Rockets are now 1-3 on their six-game road trip. Houston led 100-86 early in the fourth quarter thanks to 28 points from Alperen Sengun and 24 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Durant.
For the first time since sustaining an oblique injury on November 14, Rockets forward Tari Eason was back in the starting lineup. In 16 minutes, he scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Houston is now 1-4 in overtime games this season, failing to capitalize after that big win over Denver on Saturday.
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FREE PICK
GAME TOTAL UNDER 219.5
The Clippers are one of the worst offenses in the NBA. They play at a very slow pace. They rank 29th in possessions per game and they aren’t very efficient when they do have the ball. The Clippers rank 23rd in Offensive Rating and 23rd in Points Per Possession. That’s why they have only scored more than 110 points once in their last six games. Houston has one of the better defenses in the NBA. The Rockets rank fourth, allowing 112.1 points per game. These two teams played on Dec. 11 with a total of 221.5. Tonight’s total opened at 222.5 and has been bet down to 219.5. That’s a key indicator that tonight’s game will be a grind-it-out, half-court battle.
