Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, 12/23/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Clippers

Date: Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Location: Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA

TV: NBC

The Los Angeles Clippers (7-21) will go up against the Houston Rockets (17-8) at Intuit Dome on Tuesday.

The Rockets took the court against the Nuggets and went home with a win by a final score of 115-101 in their last game. Houston ended the game with a 50.6% FG percentage (39 of 77) and made 19 out of their 35 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Rockets converted 18 of their 23 tries for a percentage of 78.3%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 47 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 27 assists for this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 18 turnovers and earning 11 steals. When talking about defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 40.2% from the field on 37 of 92 shooting. Denver dished out 24 dimes and had 5 steals in this game. On top of that, Denver grabbed 39 boards (10 offensive, 29 defensive) and got 2 blocked shots. Denver ended up shooting 82.6% from the free throw line by making 19 of 23 attempts. They made 8 of their 29 tries from 3-point range. In regard to personal fouls, the Rockets finished with 13 and the Nuggets totaled 22 personal fouls.

Kevin Durant is a guy who came through in this game. Durant finished 57.1% from the field and distributed 5 assists. He played for 40 mins and also snagged 6 rebounds. He finished with 31 points on 8 of 14 shooting.

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Houston heads into this one with a mark of 17-8 so far this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 16.4 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 20.5 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Houston is pulling in 49.0 rebounds per game and has earned 641 dimes this year, which ranks 30th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Rockets are shooting 40.2% on shots beyond the perimeter (301 of 748) and 78.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 120.9 pts per game (3rd in the league) while shooting 48.7% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Rockets are able to force 14.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 22.4 personal fouls. They are ranked 1st in basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 607 surrendered for the year. The Rockets defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.9% (1,016 of 2,212) and they concede 37.7 boards per game as a group. They relinquish 34.5% on shots from downtown while they are 3rd in the NBA in opponents points per game (111.6).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Clippers walked away with a victory by a final of 103-88 against the Lakers. The Clippers recorded 35 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards for a total of 48 for the contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 18 times, while getting 6 steals for the matchup. The Lakers committed 26 fouls in this contest which took the Clippers to the charity stripe for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to knock down 19 of the free throw tries for a rate of 95.0%. In terms of shots from distance, Los Angeles knocked down 16 out of 43 attempts (37.2%). Overall, the Clippers finished 34 out of 80 from the floor which had them shooting 42.5%. The Clippers allowed the Lakers to bury 34 of their 88 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 38.6% for the matchup. They shot 15.8% from three-point range by connecting on 6 out of 38 and finished the contest at 14 of 23 at the free throw line (60.9%). In regard to cleaning up the glass, Los Angeles allowed Los Angeles to grab 43 overall (14 offensive).

Kawhi Leonard ended up being a major contributor for the Clippers in this matchup. Leonard scored 32 points in his 42 mins of playing time and earned 3 assists for this game. He made 8 of 24 in this game for a field goal rate of 33.3%, and had 12 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss mark of 7-21 so far this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Clippers are shooting 46.9% from the field, which has them ranked 16th in the league. Los Angeles has scored 3,098 pts on the campaign (110.6 per contest) and they pull in 41.2 rebounds per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 23.7 times per game (29th in the NBA) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 16.3 times per game. The Clippers have committed 20.0 fouls per game while shooting 83.2% from the free throw line.

The Los Angeles defense concedes 38.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter (399 of 1,048) and opponents are converting on 80.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 26.6 dimes and 42.4 boards every game, which ranks 13th and 8th in the league. The Clippers on the defensive side of the court are 15th in the league in points allowed per game with 116.0. They are forcing 13.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.6% from the field (19th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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