Tip-off: Monday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: Houston -6.5, Total: 193.5

The Rockets look to extend their winning streak to four games when they take on the reeling Nets, losers of five straight contests, on Monday night.

Houston has proven to be one of the better teams in the NBA and steamrolled its competition in the most recent three-game stretch. The Rockets faced some easy competition in that time, as they were double-digit favorites in wins over Utah and New York while also crushing Cleveland on the road. Houston defeated those squads by an average of 17.0 PPG despite turning the ball over at least 17 times in each of the matchups. The team coughed up the rock 20 times while forcing the Jazz into 27 turnovers in a 97-82 trumping as an 11-point favorite on Saturday. Brooklyn looked overmatched in its recent five-game losing skid (1-4 ATS) as it lost by 6.2 PPG. The team was favored in three of the losses and played poorly in back-to-back home games against the Celtics and 76ers, as it scored an average of 84.5 PPG. It is the offense that has put the Nets in their recent hole as they have hit fewer than 45% FG in four of their past five games and were a mere 37-of-88 (42% FG) in a 98-93 defeat at the hands of Detroit on the road this past Saturday. The road hasn’t given the Rockets too much trouble, as they are 13-5 SU (10-7 ATS) in away games on the season, while Brooklyn is 8-11 SU (7-12 ATS) in home games. The last time these two teams met on April 1, 2014, the Nets grabbed a 105-96 win as 3.5-point home favorites, which was their first victory in this matchup since the 2006-07 campaign (14 games). Houston was 11-2-1 ATS over those 14 straight wins, but it was Brooklyn's great shooting (53% FG) that propelled the team to win last season. Trends show that the Nets are a poor 5-18 ATS (22%) in home games after failing to cover three of their previous four games ATS over the past three seasons, while the Rockets are a meager 9-19 ATS (32%) in road games after two or more consecutive wins over the past two seasons. On the injury front, Houston PF Terrence Jones (leg) remains out indefinitely, but C Dwight Howard (knee) is probable for Monday. The Nets come into this contest with PG Deron Williams (ribs) out indefinitely.

Can the Nets end their losing skid with a big home win on Monday? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (96-79-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a stellar 74% ATS (29-10) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Scott, who is a sizzling 73% ATS (11-4) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 55% ATS (30-25) for the season. StatFox Brian is 64% ATS (21-12) in Best Bets since Nov. 29, and is now 56% ATS (31-24) in season Best Bets, while StatFox Gary is 6-2 ATS in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and 56% ATS (31-24) this season.

The Rockets have been able to score sufficiently this season with 101.5 PPG (14th in NBA) despite shooting 43.5% FG (6th-worst in league), but these numbers have risen dramatically in the past five games with 108.4 PPG on 47.4% FG. On the other side of the court, Houston's defense has been very impressive in allowing opponents to score just 96.8 PPG (3rd in league) on 43.6% shooting (5th in league). SG James Harden (26.8 PPG, 6.6 APG, 5.8 RPG, 1.8 SPG) has been playing at an MVP level this year and has turned up his efficiency from behind the arc in his past five outings (42% threes). He struggled mightily in his two games against Brooklyn last season though, as he scored 17.5 PPG (36% FG) while adding 8.0 APG and 1.5 SPG. C Dwight Howard (17.2 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 1.6 BPG) has a double-double in four of his past five games, but did little (8 points, 8 rebounds) in the easy win over the Jazz on Saturday. Howard's game has always been on point during his 25 career meetings with the Nets, as he has scored 17.6 PPG (62% FG) while grabbing 11.8 RPG and getting 2.3 BPG. SF Trevor Ariza (12.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG) has had issues with his shooting this season with a putrid career-low 36% FG clip, and could struggle again as he averaged only 9.7 PPG (38% FG) in his three games against the Nets last season.

Brooklyn’s offense has not looked great during the 2014-15 campaign and is scoring 95.5 PPG (6th-worst in league) behind 44.5% shooting from the floor (12th-worst in NBA). Its defense has actually performed quite well though, giving up only 97.7 PPG (6th in league) as opponents are making 44.2% FG (9th in league). SG Joe Johnson (16.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG) has played 39.4 MPG over his past five games, but has made only 40% of his shots in that time. He had some solid performances against this Houston team over two games last season, netting 18.5 PPG (48% FG) to go along with 3.5 RPG. PG Jarrett Jack (10.7 PPG, 4.2 APG, 1.1 SPG) will play a major role for this team, as PG Deron Williams (13.9 PPG, 6.3 APG) is out injured, and Jack has scored 14+ points in three of the past four games. He’s averaged 11.0 PPG (43% FG) and 4.1 APG in his 25 career games (13 starts) against the Rockets. C Brook Lopez (14.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG) has been very inconsistent this season, but is coming off a solid effort against the Pistons (11 points, 15 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal). Houston hasn’t given him many issues in the past, as he has been able to go for 19.4 PPG (55% FG), 7.4 RPG and 2.7 BPG over nine career meetings.