The Houston Rockets take on the New York Knicks in non-conference play Wednesday night inside famed Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. They tip it off at 7:30pm. 

The Knicks have done a great job of closing out games and winning some impressive ones.  Bookmaker has installed the Knicks as a slim - 4.5 point favorite. 

The Knicks (23-17) have won six of their last eight overall and are playing some of their best basketball of the season. They are winning games with fourth quarter defense and some really clutch play from players like Jalen Brunson and Juluis Randle, who are both scoring around 25 a night.

Brunson is the face of the franchise and he really makes this offense go, as he contributes 25 points per game and he also gets his teammates involved as he dishes out close to seven assists per game. He loves to push the ball up the floor and get Randle involved too. 

The 29-year-old power forward is adding 24 a game while connecting on 46% from the floor for the Knicks, who have been a much better shooting team of late. Randle can play with his back against the basket. They have also been a much better rebuilding team as well and look for Randle to try to get some easy buckets around the rim.

New York connects on 52% from the floor, including 37% from beyond the arc. 

The Rockets (19-20) have hit the skids as they have dropped five of seven overall and now sit two games under .500 on the season. They are not a bad team, but they are still trying to figure things out. They have some decent young talent on their roster, including center Alperen Sengun, who is averaging around 21 a night for the Rockets. 

They are not a bad shooting team as a whole, and connect on 54% from the floor, including 35% from beyond the arc on the season. Look for them to also get rising guard Jalen Green into the mix as he will push the ball up the floor and set the tempo. 

He is very sound and a very smart guard who makes the right decisions and is contributing with 17 points per game to go along with just under three assists per outing. If the Rockets contain Brunson and limit easy buckets to Randle inside, they can win this game. 

They have to do a good job of not turning the ball over either. 

The Knicks are 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are a solid 13-11 in their road games against the number and the totals have gone over in just one out of their last five games. The totals have gone over in six out of their last 16 games at home. 

The Rockets are 1-4 in their last five games and 0-5 in their last five games against the number. The totals have gone over in four out of their last five games.